Burning Crimson
by TricksterWolf
Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix is fated to die fighting a powerful evil. But first the Universe will know - Once a Ranger, always a Ranger. Sequel to Heart of Crimson and Bleeding Crimson. Slash
1. 2005

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 1: 2005**

Brandon Loksen, Phoenix Champion and Crimson Ranger stood in the pre-dawn hours on the balcony of his and Jason Scott's apartments overlooking Elashan, the capitol city of Eltar. He wanted to still be in bed, curled up with Jason, but that wasn't happening tonight for various reasons.

The first was the perpetual problem Brandon dealt with; he really didn't need much sleep. Human Rangers tended to not need as much sleep due to the regenerative effects of the Power anyway. However, Brandon, with his direct connection to the Morphing Grid needed even less. Three hours was a long night for him, and he had already gotten that tonight, after recovering from the space-lag he and Jason had suffered from their month-long tour of the Allied Worlds . . . including a stop on Earth to help Tommy and his team celebrate their recent victory. Even Jason's ritual of getting them both properly worn out upon returning home after prolonged space travel hadn't helped Brandon grab any extra sleep.

Normally, Brandon would have stayed in bed, cuddled up with Jason and meditated, but that didn't seem possible tonight. He just couldn't escape the feeling that something was wrong. And this wasn't his normal sense of general foreboding, born of his knowledge that one day he would have to again sacrifice himself. This was more immediate and closer to home.

Brandon sighed and went back inside, figuring he might as well see about getting caught up on any correspondences that came in, nearly tripping over Jason's uniform jacket as he re-entered the bedroom. Picking it up from where Jason had casually tossed the garment when they arrived home, Brandon smiled. Jason hated the uniforms. Not because they were uncomfortable, the leather looking material was actually an incredibly comfortable molecularly woven fabric, but because they were a constant reminder of how formal most of the rest of the galaxy was about Rangerhood, and Jason Scott was anything but formal. Brandon lovingly traced his hand over the stylized Red Stallion image on the back of the jacket and thought back to those first few days after he and Jason's reunion on Phaedos three years prior . . .

"_Okay, if we're gonna make a go of this, if you're willing to live on Eltar with me . . ."_

"_Of course I'm willing to live on Eltar with you," Jason interrupted._

"_I know," Brandon picked up, "but if you'd let me finish I was going to say you'll need to be a Ranger. Being one of Zordon's Chosen will buy you quite a lot of respect, but people will treat you like you're my lover rather than my mate unless you can stand with me as a fellow active Ranger."_

"_Um, hello, remember this?" Jason asked, pulling out his Red Dragon morpher, "I am an active Ranger again."_

_Brandon sighed, "Beloved, you cannot keep using that."_

"_Why not? It works fine."_

"_For now. The localized morphing grid that those power coins were attached to is gone though, which means it's now drawing power un-buffered from the universal Grid. They weren't designed to do that. Eventually the power being channeled through it will be too much and the coin will fail . . . or explode."_

_Jason looked down at his morpher with surprise and sadness . . . the coin was one of the last physical connections he had to Zordon and he grieved its potential loss. Finally, he looked up at Brandon, "So, if I can't use this morpher, what do I do?"_

_Brandon looked past Jason and said, "Dulcea?"_

_Jason turned to find the Master Warrior studying him, she then smiled and said, "Yes, I think so. Even though you've never trained as ninja, I believe you've been sufficiently touched by the Power. Coupled with the Jyuken you picked up from Brandon, I am almost certain you can successfully become Ninjetti and quest to the Temple."_

Brandon smiled again, his thoughts returning to the present. Jason had been surprised when his Ninjetti Spirit had turned out to be the very Geki Brandon had seen in him all those years ago, the Stallion. Brandon hadn't been, after all he had been right about the Gekis for Billy, Kim, and Tommy . . . Brandon dropped the jacket as it hit him. That's what was wrong. Something was wrong with Tommy.

Brandon moved quickly, but quietly to the main living area. As he entered the doors to the lift to their mini-Command Center on the level below opened, revealing a very agitated Alpha 7. Seeing Brandon, the automaton began, "Aiy, aiy, aiy, Brandon!"

"It's Tommy, isn't it?"

Not even questioning how Brandon knew that, Alpha continued, "Yes. Billy's transmission just got through, Tommy's been kidnapped!"

Brandon swore, and then latched onto part of Alpha's statement, "Just?"

"Yes, something is actively blocking all transmissions from Earth. We only got it because Trey piggy-backed the signal onto a Triforian diplomatic transmission."

Brandon smiled grimly; he could always count on Trey to meddle when needed. Turning his attention back to the situation at hand, "Play it."

Alpha moved to a nearby console and loaded the transmission, Billy's worried face, Kim pacing in the background, appeared on the monitor, "Brandon, we have had an incident, at 9 pm California time . . ." Kim shoved Billy out of the way, "Someone kidnapped Tommy and left Haley with three broken ribs!" she yelled into the camera. From off camera Billy could be heard saying, "Kim, focus. Give him the info he needs." Kim took a deep breath and continued, "There were five of them, all wearing what looked like knock-off Ranger armor. White and blue with a comet-looking symbol over the left breast."

Brandon swore, "The Council Guard . . . knew I couldn't trust that little weasel not to try something."

His eyes went back to the screen as Kim finished, her voice cold and hard, "Brandon, Jase, you guys find whoever took my man, get him back, and then make them hurt for me."

The recording ended and Brandon yelled, "Jason!"

* * *

The Red Stallion and the Crimson Phoenix leapt over the rooftops of Elashan in Ninjetti form, moving quiet as ghosts, heading for the governmental complex. Brandon had one and only one prime suspect, the Chancellor of the Eltaran High Council, Gant.

Gant was a little weasel and Eltaran who just happened to be a descendent of Zordon's only sibling. In the wake of the UAE's defeat, he had used that fact and the post-war chaos to secure himself the Chancellorship. Neither Brandon nor Jason could stand him, for several good reasons: he despised all of the Rangers Zordon had claimed as his Chosen for the very fact that he felt humans unworthy of that honor, although it was more likely jealousy due to the fact that, by Galactic law, the Chosen were Zordon's true heirs, not any blood relatives; the other was that he had decided Tommy was galactic enemy number one, due to getting his start under Rita.

Unfortunately, the whole Mesagog situation had not helped, although Gant even knowing about it just proved he had spies on Earth watching Tommy, maybe even all of the Chosen. Gant had tried to declare Tommy a traitor to the Power and to have him arrested . . . until Brandon declared that, as a Ranger, Tommy was under his protection and should Gant even appear to be a threat to Tommy, he was getting fed to the Phoenix Zord.

Gant had done a good job covering the kidnapping up, but not good enough when faced with Alpha and the hacking skills he had acquired from Billy and Justin. By the time Jason was dressed and up to speed, Alpha had tracked Gant and a Power-tinged human life sign to the Adjudication Chamber in the governmental complex. Jason and Brandon weren't much surprised . . . Gant's ego wouldn't let him give up the trappings of his power and just kill Tommy. He'd want the whole thing to seem official.

It was a simple matter for the two Ninjetti to slip into the building and past the normal security. The five Council Guardsmen standing watch outside the Adjudication Chamber never saw what hit them. Once they were unconscious, Brandon turned to Jason, "Ranger morph, I want to be ready for anything." Jason nodded in agreement.

"**Phoenix Ranger Power!**"

"**Red Stallion Ranger Power!**"

The instant they morphed, Jason and Brandon struck as one, kicking the doors in and storming into the room. What they found shocked even the two veteran Rangers. Instead of more Council Guard, as they expected, there were a dozen or so creatures that resembled Z-Patrollers, but looked like that had been molded from cold-iron instead of clay and had a T chest medallion instead of a Z. Tommy was strapped to a chair, a life-extractor pointed at him and powering up. Presiding over it all was Gant, seated in the place of the Adjudicator.

"What do you think you're doing Gant?!" Brandon demanded.

For the first time ever, Gant didn't seem cowed. Instead, he smiled maliciously and responded, "Ending a threat to universal order. Tallicks, destroy them! Activate the extractor!"

As the creatures began to move, Brandon went into a defensive posture and Jason pulled his blade blaster, "Hey, no life extracting from Tommy . . . Kim will destroy us all!" he announced as he put disabling shots into the machine's energy core.

Gant yelled in rage as the machine sparked and died. Brandon fended off the Tallicks, landing a lightning fast series of punches and kicks, holding them back while Jason unstrapped Tommy. Brandon backed up and joined them, shaking his hand, "They don't just look like they're made of metal, they really are."

Noticing the chest emblems, Jason said, "Let me try something," and he spun a kick into one of the emblems. It cracked, and energy poured out of it. The cracks spread across the Tallick's body and it exploded, showering the room in shrapnel. Brandon was a blur, moving to shield the un-morphed Tommy. Gant dived behind the Adjudicator's throne as shrapnel tore into it.

There armors protected them, and Tommy was okay, although rips in his jacket and pants suggested several close calls. Gant rose from behind the throne and taunted, "What will you do now Rangers? My Master has created soldiers you can't defeat without risks."

"Master?" Brandon asked, "Gant, what have you done?"

"I've assured my place in the Universe to come," he laughed evilly. "Goodbye, Rangers," he spat out the last word and then vanished in a flash of dark teleport energy.

Brandon shoved Tommy at Jason, "Get him out of here. The teleport block is only on signals originating outside the building."

"What about you?" Tommy asked.

Brandon drew the Phoenix Avenger saber, "I can't let these things run loose."

Jason grabbed Brandon's shoulder, "You're not going to . . ."

Brandon put his hand over Jason's, "Over these things? No way in hell. Just need Tommy clear of the blast."

Jason nodded and then he and Tommy vanished in red and white teleport pulses. Brandon charged his sword and then became a blur of slashes, cutting through the remaining Tallicks in seconds. He then quickly dived behind the half wall that separated the observation area from the main floor, an instant before a storm of metal shrapnel tore the chamber apart.

When the dust cleared Brandon stood. Reaching over what was left of the wall, he pulled a piece of the metal shrapnel out of it. He studied it for a moment, noting the nagging familiarity of not only the design of the creatures, but the tingle of dark magic he could sense in the shard.

"Well, crap."


	2. Sins of the Past

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 2: Sins of the Past**

Brandon appeared in the main living area in a flash of crimson fire. Jason and Alpha were there tending to the injuries Tommy had suffered due to the kidnapping. Jason's expression was one of relief when he saw Brandon, who gave him a smile in return.

Tommy looked up from where Alpha was applying an Eltaran healing salve to a rather nasty bruise on his cheek and asked, "So, somebody want to tell me what the hell that was all about?"

"Gant was Chancellor of the Eltaran High Council. He's wanted to put you on trial for your time under Rita and for allowing morphing technology to fall into the wrong hands, thereby creating Mesagog. However," Brandon continued holding up the Tallick fragment, "I think we can safely assume that's all been a front to try to legally murder one of Zordon's Chosen, because those Tallicks were oozing dark magic."

"Oh great, someone else wanting me dead," Tommy said ruefully. "Okay. Explain the Chosen thing again."

Brandon smirked, "Before Eltar was attacked by the UAE Zordon declared all the Rangers he mentored, everyone up through Justin with me as the exception, his Chosen. In the eyes of Galactic law he claimed all of you as his sons and daughters, his heirs. Out here, that carries more weight than blood. Getting any of you, but you especially Tommy, given that you've served as a Ranger leader and a mentor, convicted as a traitor to the Light would have severely damaged Zordon's legacy."

"I hate politics," Jason muttered. Tommy looked at him oddly but then appeared to choose to move on.

"Okay, that's the other thing I've never understood, why aren't you part of this whole "Zordon's Chosen" thing," Tommy asked Brandon.

Brandon sighed, "In private, I am. Publically, it's more politics. Claiming the Phoenix Champion would have been seen as the height of arrogance on Zordon's part, and the Council was already fighting him enough over war preparations then as it was. Zordon couldn't afford to give them more ammo."

Jason and Tommy shared a look, both men still wishing they had been able to be there for Zordon during his final days. They were interrupted when Brandon continued, "I'm gonna head down to the Command Center and first off call your wife and let her know you're alright before she figures out a way to hijack a star ship. Then I'm gonna work on analyzing this fragment and see if we can't figure out who this "master" of Gant's is."

* * *

The call to Earth had gone much as expected, Kim was relieved that Tommy was alright, and pissed at him for getting kidnapped yet again. Brandon let her know that he thought it best to let Tommy rest for a few hours, and then he would teleport him back to Earth. Once he got Kim to agree, the Crimson Ranger put his mind to the other task at hand. Jason joined him an hour later.

"Tommy's settled. I figure he'll sleep a couple of hours, and then we can get him home." When he didn't get a response he continued, "Love?" Coming around Brandon's side Jason was finally able to see Brandon's face, firmly set in a scowl as he studied the readout in front of him. "Baby, what is it?"

Brandon sighed heavily, "I found a near exact match in the archival database Alpha 5 copied from Earth. Everything's the same; basic molecular structure, metagenic properties, residual dark energy. The only difference is that the molecules are based on iron instead of carbon."

"What's it mean?"

Brandon looked up, and as they had so often in all the years, amber eyes met chocolate, "That these Tallick things don't just look like Z-Patrollers made out of metal . . . they are Z-Patrollers made out of metal."

Jason's eyes widened, "How is that possible? Zordon's energy destroyed the Zedd staff and freed Alveth."

"I know. And he's still in the M51 galaxy, overseeing the Solarian Rangers' fight against Master Vile's empire. There was a communiqué when we got back from him saying they had finally managed to liberate Serena's home planet," Brandon responded, alluding to the former Scorpina, now Yellow Solarian Ranger.

"Maybe there's another Zedd artifact," Jason suggested.

"Maybe, but I doubt we'll find anything in the Eltaran archives. What little was there is what got Alveth into trouble in the first place, and they cleaned things up even more after that. And direct contact with him takes too long," Brandon paused for a moment, and then looked up, "But there's one other person who may know, and we have to go to Earth anyway . . ."

* * *

In red and crimson flashes, Jason and Brandon materialized in a field abutting a forest of large, old trees. Jason looked around and asked, "Where are we?"

"Just outside a city called Briarwood," Brandon responded. "This is about as northern as northern California can get."

"Briarwood?" Jason seemed to ponder the name. "I think I heard something about this place in some show when I was a kid. The forest here is supposed to be haunted or something."

"Or something," Brandon answered with a smile. "The forest contains a massive portal to one of a honeycomb of inter-linked sub-dimensions. All based entirely on magic and currently the home of an old friend of yours."

Jason raised an eyebrow, "This old friend wouldn't happen to be the reason you wouldn't tell Tommy where we were going, would they?"

Brandon nodded his head as he walked towards the tree line. "Tommy may understand what Zordon's energy wave did, but he's still got some issues with a few folks from the old days."

"He's okay with Finster working for Billy," Jason countered.

"Yeah, because Finster got transformed into a withered little gnome of a man and he doesn't have any powers. Besides, he was never really evil, just unquestioningly devoted. But you know as well as I do he'd freak if he knew she was on Earth, even in another dimension. Yeah, he'd probably get over it eventually, but I don't want to deal with that right now. Do you?"

Jason considered it for slightly less than a second, "No, not really. Besides, Kim's in mother hen mode with him right now, and upsetting Tommy would just piss her off."

"Yep." Brandon was quiet for a moment and then commented, "You know, it's funny."

"What is love?" Jason asked as the air rippled around them, signally their transition into the mystic realm.

"We're both veteran Rangers. We've both faced down some of the most vicious evils in the known Universe. Hell, I've got enough power to wipe out entire solar systems if I really put my mind to it, and yet we're both terrified of pissing off a five foot nothing woman with an overactive affinity for pink. What do you call that?"

Before Jason could answer the scene shifted. There was no flash of light, no ripple. Just one moment they were in the forest, the next they were in a vast pillared hall constructed entirely of white marble. A feminine voice behind them said, "It's called having a modicum of intelligence."

Jason and Brandon turned to the voice. The Mystic Mother rose from her throne, resplendent in a multi-layered white gown, her more-than-floor length white hair magically sculpted and bejeweled into a headdress. She joined the two Rangers on the main floor. "Mystic Mother," Brandon addressed her as a way of greeting.

"Rita," Jason said with a nod.

The woman once known as Rita Repulse smiled, "My father chose that name. Please, I've returned to the name my mother gave me and would like you to call me by it; Ralana."

"Alright, Ralana," Jason corrected.

The formerly evil sorceress smiled and gestured to the air at her right, "Come into the parlor for tea and then you can tell me why you've come. I assume it's not a social call." A door appeared and opened, revealing a comfortable sitting room beyond. Jason and Brandon followed her and, as they crossed threshold the Mystic Mother transformed, her gown shifting to a simple ochre dress which complimented her skin tone and her hair now in four looping braids. She gestured for the two Rangers to sit and served them tea.

Jason couldn't help but comment, "There was a time that if someone had told me that you would be serving me tea, I'd have shot them on pure suspicion they were a monster Ri . . ." The sorceress glanced at him and he corrected himself to, "Ralana."

She smiled and sat, "I understand completely Jason. Now, you have questions about that chunk of metal giving off dark energy in Brandon's pocket, I suppose?"

Jason and Brandon exchanged a glance and the latter removed the chuck of Tallick from his pocket. "How?" Jason asked.

Taking the fragment, Ralana explained, "I was a student of all magic, both Light and Dark before I became Rita Repulsa. As Rita I embraced the Darkness for centuries . . . outside of that dumpster. And now, due to a temporal disparity in the portal I used to reach the Mystic Realm, I have been serving the Light for a few centuries. So believe me, I can spot the residue of dark magic a mile away." She studied the fragment for a moment and then frowned, "But I had hoped to never see this brand of dark magic again."

Brandon frowned as his own suspicions were confirmed. "How is that possible? The Staff was the last surviving Zedd artifact, wasn't it?" he asked.

Ralana nodded, while at the same time wrapping the fragment in a containment spell, and then destroying it, "Yes, of the ancient artifacts."

The two Rangers exchanged another glance and Jason said, "Okay, I really don't like the sound of that."

Though her guise did not change, her demeanor did, and it was now the Mystic Mother addressing them, "Brandon, how much do you know of what the Zedd and Lord Zedd were?"

Brandon sighed, "Only what Alveth told me; that the Zedd were a cult of Eltaran dark sorcerers about six hundred thousand years ago. The fight against them is what led to the Eltaran Unification. All but one master and a few acolytes were destroyed. They fled to a small, hidden temple where they imparted their life forces into the Staff of the Zedd, which remained hidden until Alveth found it. The combined essence within the staff possessed him, creating Lord Zedd."

"That is essentially correct," Mystic Mother responded, "however, there are aspects Alveth does not remember." She took a deep sip of her tea, "You see, unlike what my father did to me, and I in turn did to Tommy and Katherine, which was to bring the potential for evil that exists in all sentient beings to the surface and make it primary, Alveth was possessed. So while I, Tommy, and Katherine all remember our actions while evil, Alveth does not remember much of being Zedd prior to awakening from stasis twelve years ago. Even after that is memories are more fragmented the stronger Zedd was at any given time. So he does not remember that Zedd always considered him an imperfect host."

"Why was he imperfect," Jason asked.

"While he is very knowledgeable about magic, it is a historian's, an academic's knowledge. Otherwise Alveth completely lacks any innate or developed magical skill. Lord Zedd would have been significantly more powerful if he had possessed someone who their own magical powers."

The two Rangers considered that for a moment, and the Jason asked another question, "So why didn't Zedd just find a host with magic?"

Ralana smiled and then her demeanor turned serious again, "Thankfully, possessing someone who has their own magic, especially trained magic is quite a bit more difficult that possessing someone without it. Finding a ready host was difficult . . . so Zedd set out to make one." Brandon and Jason shared shocked looks as she continued, "Using the darkest of the Zedd arts in combination with advanced genetics technology Zedd bio-engineered a host body with DNA stolen from captured Eltaran mystics, and myself. It was intended to be a blank slate, psychologically, but he filled it with vast amounts of Zedd arcane knowledge."

Now Brandon asked, "So why didn't Zedd transfer to that host?"

"Thankfully, the coalition Zordon had put together launched their final attack on our stellar base before Zedd could perform the last of the spells that would completely wipe out the nascent consciousness that had begun to form and take over the body. I fled to Earth and we believed Lord Zedd destroyed with the Darkthrone. However, as we now know, he survived. It's possible that the gestation chamber survived as well." Ralana looked them both squarely in the eye and said, "Jason, Brandon, this being was designed to be pure evil, the embodiment of the Zedd's belief in order through evil dominion. Even if it has developed its own consciousness, it will likely seek to carry out those same goals. I think the creatures that fragment came from are proof of that."

Silence reigned for several moments until Jason commented, "Okay, so those Tallick things were definitely made by Zedd magic. But what I still don't get is why they had a T on their chests instead of a Z."

Ralana looked up, "Did you say a T?" When both men nodded, she continued, "Lord Zedd called the host by an old Eltaran word meaning vessel to contain power . . . thrax."


	3. Resurrections

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 3: Resurrections**

Gant, former Chancellor of the Eltaran High Council walked with regal bearing through the cavern tunnels under what had once been the Lunar Palace, former home to Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd. If he suffered any lingering pain from the punishment his master had subjected him to for his failure to kill Tommy Oliver, he did not show it. He deemed it a small price to pay for the power he had gained. And he added it to the mental list of debts he felt owed him by the Crimson Ranger.

After several long minutes of hiking through the dark, dusty tunnels, silently cursing that their depth below the surface prevented direct teleportation, Gant and the three Tallicks that accompanied him finally reached their destination. Not surprisingly, it appeared that Zedd had destroyed the machinery the cavern once contained in a fit of impotent rage.

While his master had expressed a desire to study the Shadowmancer's machine, he had also indicated that Gant should not bother if the technology appeared too damaged to glean anything useful. However, as he spotted his primary objective he handed a fragment of the former crystal core and the metal the machine was made of to one of the Tallicks.

Gant approached the body. It was in the early stages of mummification, dried out by the waterless lunar environment, but there were no other signs of decay due to the lack of micro-organisms to drive the process. Gant removed the appropriate talisman, a dark disk of metal with a T formed of blue crystal set into it, from the pouch he carried and placed it inside the gaping hole where the corpse's chest one was. Upon contact with the desiccated flesh, the talisman began to glow and Gant stepped back. Within seconds the corpse was suffused with dark energy. The hole in its chest closed up before Gant's eyes and the severed wing grew back. Suddenly, the being's back arched as he drew his first breath in over a decade.

Pupil-less red eyes shot open and the warrior leapt to his feet in a defensive pose. Two of the Tallicks moved forward into defensive positions in front of Gant. The sight of the creatures caused the massive, winged warrior to pause. Gant addressed him, "Goldar of Camia, my master has restored life to you, and he can take it back just as easily. However, swear your fealty to him and he will grant you more power than you have ever dreamed."

Goldar seemed to consider the situation for a moment, and then said, "Very well."

Gant smiled coldly and then withdrew another talisman from his pouch. In his hands it became a sword resembling Goldar's original weapon, however it oozed dark power. The Tallicks moved aside and Gant strode forward, offering the sword to Goldar, "Then take this as a sign of your fealty."

Goldar took the sword and felt its power course through him. He gave Gant a fanged smile.

* * *

Anton Mercer sat in his home office studying the genetic model on the computer screen in front of him. It was late, but Anton couldn't bring himself to go to bed. For once he wasn't up doing any real work. The genetic model he was studying was for a hybrid plant he had been working on. He had known that the plant's flowers would show variety along the red/orange/yellow color range, but a significantly higher number of the plants were producing orange flowers than he had expected. It wasn't anything serious, more just a stimulating puzzle for the scientist/businessman to figure out.

He had finally decided to call it a night when he was interrupted as twin flashes of dark light filled his office. When the flashes cleared Anton saw a pointed-faced, gaunt human-looking being wearing an ornately embroidered black long-coat over a gray tunic. Next to him was a massive winged creature with blue fur that looked like a cross between a dog and a monkey wearing gold armor. It wasn't the sudden teleport that shocked Anton, but the fact that he recognized the blue furred creature from the records Tommy kept, and remembered that the creature, Goldar, was supposed to be dead.

Anton bolted for the door, but Goldar was faster and in an instant was holding Anton by his neck against the wall, a full foot off the floor. Goldar glanced back at his companion and asked, "Why does the master want such a pathetic creature Gant?"

The one called Gant stepped forward, smiling coldly, "Oh, the master doesn't want him. No, the master wants the remnants of something that once lived in his blood and tissue."

He reached into a pouch at his waist and pulled out a disk of dark metal featuring a T made of green crystal. Striding forward he ripped open Anton's shirt with his free hand and placed the disk against his bare chest. The instant it touched skin the crystal began to glow . . . and Anton screamed. After a moment, the crystal stopped glowing and Anton stopped screaming, going limp in Goldar's grip.

Gant placed the disk back in his pouch and turned to the warrior, "We're done here. One more stop to make."

Goldar gave a feral smile and tossed the limp form of Anton Mercer across his desk and into the wall. Anton hit with a wet crack and then crashed to the floor. Gant and Goldar teleported out.

* * *

The pair next appeared in a hidden temple buried under desert sands. Several Tallicks were already waiting with a humanoid figure laid out on the temple's altar.

Goldar approached the figure and commented, "Clay?"

"The last of your former associate Finster's metagenic clay," Gant responded. "Just enough to allow our final recruit to return to physical reality. Unfortunately, past defeats have scattered her essence to the point that she needs a vessel through which to become corporeal. However, this will also free her from her few weaknesses."

Gant again drew a talisman from his pouch, this one featuring a T of red crystal, and placed it into a notch carved out of the chest of the clay figure. Upon chanting a few arcane words the talisman began to glow. Energies swirled about the chamber and flowed into the talisman. Within seconds the clay began to shift, taking on a feminine form. In a final flash of red light the figure became a winged woman with dark hair wearing scaly silver armor.

She drew a breath and silver eyes opened. Sitting up she brought a hand to her chest and said, "I live?"

Gant now addressed her, "Vypra of the Banshera Clan." She looked at him with surprise and suspicion, "By my master's will and power do you live again. Your queen is long gone, but if you swear fealty to my master, he will grant you power beyond anything she would ever have given you."

Vypra seemed to consider, obviously wary of the situation. However, she could feel the strength of this new body she had been granted, although she could tell it was not of demonic origin. Gant reached into his pouch and pulled forth a talisman that, in a flash of darkness, became a duplicate of Vypra's sword. The former demoness could feel the dark power emanating from it.

Gant offered her the sword's handle, "Do you accept?"

Vypra considered for a moment, and then reached out and took the sword with a nod. Gant smiled coldly and said, "Very good. Now, let us go meet your new master." He, Goldar, Vypra, and the Tallicks teleported away.


	4. Crimson & Gold

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Burning Crimson**

**Chapter 4: Crimson & Gold**

_Trey had awoken to find Brandon leaning on the balcony railing, looking out over the palace courtyard. Trey rose from the bed, not bothering to even try and locate his pants, as Brandon had done, nor to look for his robe. The Warrior Prince didn't really see a reason for modesty in his private quarters. _

_Stopping for a moment as he came around the foot of the bed, Trey admired how Brandon's pale skin glowed in the golden light of Triforia's moons, fully understanding how Jason could have been enraptured by the Crimson Ranger's beauty from their first meeting. Padding out onto the balcony he wrapped his arms around Brandon and kissed him gently just behind the ear._

_Brandon placed a hand on Trey's forearm, sighed, and then whispered, "I'm sorry." _

_"Why?" Trey asked._

_"We shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have done that. It wasn't fair to you . . ."_

_"You feel as though you used me," Trey made it a statement._

_Brandon pulled away and turned around to look at the Gold Ranger, "Yes, but how . . .?"_

_Trey gave an understanding smile. "I know from even the brief time I spent on Earth that Terrans have different attitudes about this, but for my people two warriors taking comfort in each other's arms after a hard battle is considered natural," he explained, referring to the attack by Divatox on one of Triforia's mining colonies in the neighboring star system. Brandon had been dispatched by Zordon to back Trey up. They had repelled the attack, but the casualties had been high._

_Looking down, Brandon replied, "It's not just that . . . it's . . ."_

_"I remind you of Jason," again Trey made it a statement._

_"Yes," Brandon responded, his expression confused, "but I don't know why. Okay, your hair is a similar color, and I know Jason held your powers for a while, but I just have this sense of him from you."_

_"Zordon told you about Jason taking on my powers?" Brandon nodded and made an affirmative sound. "Did he tell you how that affected Jason?" Again Brandon responded affirmatively. "What Zordon didn't tell you, because Jason and I have kept this to ourselves, but I think Zordon suspects, is that in that moment when the power was transferring from Jason back to me, we became one being . . . joined in body, mind, and soul. I think that greater combined life-force is what healed both of us. And because of that, part of each of us lives in the other. So what you sense from me is that part of Jason that now lives in me. And it is because of that part, if I allowed it, that I could easily fall in love with you."_

_"Trey I . . ." Brandon began, but was cut off by Trey's fingers on his lips._

_"It's alright. One of the benefits of our ability to divide ourselves into three component aspects is that we are very aware of where our thoughts and feelings come from. I went into tonight knowing that you could feel that part of Jason in me. I find you to be a good Ranger and someone worthy and worthwhile to call friend and wanted to repay you for the backup against Divatox. Additionally, I will admit that, like most Triforians with our uniformly dark hair, I have a bit of a fetish for exotic hair color."_

_Brandon smiled and seemed to relax, "Okay, I can accept that. And I am finding that I like you on your own merits. So, friends?"_

_"Yes," Trey responded and they clasped arms._

_They shared a moment of comfortable silence, and then a wicked smile crossed Brandon's face, "So, about this ability to divide into three . . ."_

* * *

In a flash of crimson fire, Brandon teleported onto Triforia, arriving in the main square of Trien, the capitol city. Everywhere around him were signs of the attack that had prompted Trey to call for help. Help called for as Jason and Brandon were supporting Tommy and Kim through the news that Anton Mercer had been attacked by an unknown force in his own home. Brandon raced off to Triforia while Jason remained behind to keep watch over their former teammates.

Brandon followed the sounds of battle and arrived at the palace gates. There, surrounded by dozens of Tallicks he spotted the Gold Ranger. Trey seemed to be holding his own, but there were deep gouges in his chest plate from where shrapnel from Tallick explosions hit it. Brandon morphed and drew the Phoenix Avenger.

Seeing the flash of light form Brandon's morph, Trey swung the Gold Power Staff in a wide arc, forcing the Tallicks back for just a moment and then brought the weapon close to his body, reaching for the hidden switch. Realizing what he was about to do Brandon yelled, "Trey, don't!" but it was too late. Gathering his power Trey lashed out with his Golden Dawn Storm attack . . . an explosively expanding sphere of golden energy which vaporized the Tallicks. It was one of the handful of powers the staff held that Jason had never been able to access due to not being Triforian . . . a good thing too given how the staff affected him, because it took nearly everything even Trey had pull it off.

The instant the energy cleared Brandon ran to Trey. Not surprisingly he was unmorphed, but amazingly still conscious. The only other time Brandon had seen Trey use that attack the Gold Ranger had passed out for nearly an hour. Reaching Trey Brandon grabbed him and said, "And people call me suicidal. What the hell were you thinking?"

Trey smiled weakly, "That you were there to watch my back."

Lowering Trey gently to the ground Brandon continued, "I swear you solo Rangers are just as bad as Reds."

"It worked, didn't it? No explosions," Trey countered.

"Not my point. And I take it back, you're not as bad as a Red . . . you're as bad as Jason, Tommy, and Andros combined."

Trey glared at him, "I could have you arrested for insulting the Prince of the Realm like that."

Brandon grinned, "Your father would just tell you I'm right and let me out."

However, before Trey could respond a growling voice interjected, "Unless I save everyone the trouble and kill you both now."

Brandon spun and went into a defensive position, but what he saw made him say, "Impossible."

"What? Did you think you were the only one who got to come back from the dead Crimson Ranger?"

"I suppose this is something that we can thank Thrax for, eh Goldar?"

"My new Master is both powerful and generous," the Camian warrior replied while Brandon cursed inwardly that Ralana was right.

Goldar began to circle them and Brandon moved to keep himself positioned between the minion of evil and Trey. "And you already know my Master's name? It couldn't have been Zedd's former host." Goldar sneered, "So, that sow is still alive, isn't she? I hope I get the chance to kill her personally . . . I still owe her for stripping me of my wings."

Brandon brought his sword into a combat ready block, "Too bad you'll never get the chance. You were already dead, so you missed out on the fact that I have no qualms about killing." It was a bluff, but the legends of the Phoenix had given Brandon a, undeserved, reputation that backed up the threat.

"Is that so, Crimson Ranger? Then you might make an . . ." Goldar stopped and cocked his head to the side, as if he was listening to something. Straightening he continued, "But you and I will have to explore that another time, our work is done here." No sooner did he finish speaking than Goldar teleported away.

Brandon lowered his sword, "What the hell?" He turned back to Trey just as the Warrior Prince's communicator started beeping.

"Go ahead," Trey responded to the signal.

"My liege," a haggard voice speaking Triforian issued from the device, "the Obtusis shipyards have been attacked. Five thousand tetrons of metadium alloy were taken."

Trey and Brandon shared a dark look, even though Brandon was still morphed. Metadium was used to craft starship superstructures and hull plating. That quantity of the alloy could build almost a half dozen dreadnaught battle cruisers. Into the communicator Trey asked, "How?"

"The surviving dock workers reported a being that appeared to be Eltaran leading a force of metallic footmen and accompanied by a monster that created a dark wormhole that they teleported the alloy through."

Trey looked at Brandon again, who demorphed and said, "It's beginning."


	5. Rangers on Alert

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Burning Crimson**

**Chapter 5: Rangers on Alert**

_Brandon teleported into his newly built Command Center in a flash of crimson fire, "Short sighted bureaucratic . . ." he then launched into a long, profanity laden rant, switching among the various languages he knew; Eltaran, Triforian, Kerovan, something that may have been Pheadosian, and his native tongue. Trey was able to follow most of it, wincing here and there as Brandon suggested various activities for the members of the Eltaran High Council that he was quite sure Eltarans weren't physically capable of. For such a sexually repressed species, Terrans could be quite . . . creative in that arena._

_Although, Trey mused as his best friend started to wind down, repressed was not a term he would apply to Brandon. As the Crimson Ranger took a deep breath Trey commented, "Can I assume things went poorly with the Council?"_

_There was murder in Brandon's eyes as he replied, "Oh yeah. They won't commission a new team of Eltaran Rangers."_

"_What? Why not?" Trey asked, his own indignation rising._

"_Officially, and I quote," Brandon made his voice high toned and nasal, replicating the voice of the new Chancellor, Gant, "we would not want to dishonor the sacrifice made by the former team."_

"_They dishonor them more by not choosing successors to take up the mantel!"_

"_True," Brandon sighed, "but you know as well as I do that the Power chooses the Ranger, and the traits that the Council would look for, such as unquestioning loyalty to them, is not likely going to be found in a candidate that the Power would accept."_

_Trey growled, "This would never have happened if at least one of the old team survived."_

"_True," Brandon agreed, moving to one of the consoles, "And with the original Eltaran morphers destroyed the Council thinks they're in total control of the situation."_

"_Wait," Trey questioned with e suspicious look, "did you just say the Council thinks?" In response Brandon gave him a grin and Trey rolled his eyes, "You've already built a team, haven't you?"_

_Brandon straightened and put a hand to his chest, "Why Trey, when have I ever bypassed the rulings of the government of a sovereign world?"_

"_Allowing a Pikachuran Lightning Mouse imprint on my youngest sister springs immediately to mind," Trey countered._

"_Hey, neither the crown prince nor the king ever officially forbade it, so I was only bypassing Trinya's stodgy father and brother," Brandon justified with a smirk. "Besides, your mother thinks he's cute. And you have got to admit, she's never been safer."_

_Trey just rolled his eyes again. Brandon laughed and asked, "So, do you want to meet the new Rangers?"_

* * *

Jason stared at the face on the screen in front of him. It had already been far too long a day, even for a Power Ranger. "The shipyards will be completely out of commission for a month due to the battle damage. Even then, they will be five to six months behind due to the quantities of metadium stolen," Karone finished her report on the attack on and theft from KO-35 which had taken place simultaneous to the attack on Triforia.

"Thanks Karone," Jason replied. "Any word on Andros?"

The Blue Space Ranger gave a relieved smile, "Concussion, a few broken ribs, but nothing DECA and the Power can't fix. He's already well enough to be fighting with Ashley about staying in med-bay.

Jason smiled back, "Keep us apprised, and stay sharp."

"Will do. KO-35 out," Karone ended the transmission and Jason leaned heavily on the console. There had been nearly a dozen attacks in just under a Galactic Standard day. All on worlds with at least one Ranger or a Centurion outpost, and all with the same MO as attacks on Triforia and KO-35; an attack by either Tallicks or a monster on a major city that covered for smaller force stealing stellar building materials or technology.

Jason was about to start working his way through the status reports when the lift opened to reveal a tired, but somewhat smug looking Brandon. Jason greeted him with a kiss and then asked, "How did things go with the Council?"

"Well, let's see . . .," Brandon began, "they are thoroughly pissed off that I built a team without their permission, but even they had to admit that the Rangers kept civilian casualties to a minimum. Of course, they were a lot more cooperative after I presented the evidence of Gant's betrayal, which if made public would bring all of their loyalties into question since they've pretty much been rubber-stamping Gant's ideas for ages. They tried to retain some illusion of control by demanding to know the team's identities, but I told them to go to hell." Brandon seemed to consider for a moment and then continued, "Which is a lot more effective when you don't have to explain what hell is afterwards."

Jason smiled indulgently as Brandon shifted gears, "Speaking of which, how is the team?"

"Amped up on adrenaline . . . or whatever the Eltaran equivalent is," Jason responded.

A flash of light signaled Alpha-7 teleporting in, so now Brandon turned his attention to the automaton, "How'd the Neo-Dino Zords hold up Alpha?"

"Very well, there was only . . .," Alpha was cut off by the priority transmission signal. Jason spun around and accessed the communications array.

"It's Lightspeed," Jason reported, his hands flying over the controls. Brandon cursed as a screen featuring William Mitchell appeared.

"Captain, what's the situation?" Brandon asked.

"Just like you warned us, we've got a monster attacking New York," Lightspeed Rescue's CO reported. The screen split to show an image of the Supertrain Megazord having its titanium plated posterior handed to it by a giant creature resembling a beefed-up Tallick of a shiny red metal, but lacking the chest medallion. "We could use a hand."

"We're on our way. Any sign of the secondary force?" Jason asked. In answer to his question the comm-panel lit up again. Alpha opened the channel and Billy's face appeared.

Not waiting for questions, the former Blue Ranger explained, "A creature that resembles Anton Mercer's reptilian twin and a group of Tallicks are attempting to break into my research facility . . . they are rather upset about the teleport shields."

"There's a monster tearing up downtown New York and handing Lightspeed a beating," Brandon responded, "how long can you hold out?"

"Thankfully, Justin and TJ were nearby. Additionally," Billy was cut off as from off-screen a flash of pink light was accompanied by an accented voice yelling, "Zeo Ranger 1, Pink!" Picking up, Billy finished, "Kat is here."

Both Brandon and Jason smiled grimly and Jason said, "We'll deal with the monster first, but if you need us, call."

"Acknowledged."

Jason reached out and took Brandon's hand. While being a Ninjetti allowed him the power to teleport himself across a planet, and the technology he and Brandon possessed could teleport him in seconds to nearby planets, only Brandon's power could allow them to teleport instantaneously across the over fifty thousand light years separating Earth and Eltar.

Brandon reached into the Morphing Grid and suddenly the two Rangers were in New York. Their ears were immediately assaulted by the sounds of battle. Thankfully, it looked like the Lightspeed Rangers had managed to take the fight out into the shallow . . . to a Megazord . . . waters between Manhattan and Liberty Island. Jason glanced at Brandon who nodded.

"**It's Morphin' Time! Red Stallion Ranger Power!**"

"**Phoenix Ranger Power!**"

Once morphed they called upon their Zords, "Stallion Ninjetti Zord, Charge!"

"Celestial Phoenix Zord, Take flight!"

In flashes of red and crimson the two Zords appeared. Bearing a great deal of resemblance to the Wildzords, the Stallion and the Phoenix looked almost organic in form. The Stallion was a massive charger, like an ancient warhorse; red, with black and gold accents. Jason leapt to the cockpit and immediately the Zord began to transform, becoming legs and arms, with a space where the bulk of the torso should have been.

Brandon entered the Phoenix Zord's cockpit and it began its own transformation, an instant later docking with the Stallion as the missing winged torso. As the linkage completed the newly formed Megazord's head appeared.

Launching into, and landing, a flying kick to the monster's chest Jason yelled through the Megazord's loudspeakers, "Don't like trains ugly? Let's see how you deal with the Pegasus Megazord!"

Knowing Jason was more than capable of piloting the Megazord on his own for a while, Brandon signaled the Lightspeed Rangers, "Pegasus Mega to Supertrain Mega, how you guys doing over there?"

There was a burst of static, and then some coughing, and finally Carter's voice responded, "We're in pretty bad shape. Half our systems are down. Auto-repair systems are running at max, but we're out for at least five."

"Can you transfer to the Rescue Mega?"

"Negative, Aero Rescue Three launch is blocked in Megazord mode and we can't disengage."

"Okay, hang tight," Brandon closed the connection and turned his attention back to the fight, "How we doing Beloved?"

"Have I ever mentioned how much I love our Megazord?" Jason asked in response as he guided it through a spin kick.

Brandon chuckled, "Only every time we actually use it." However as he spoke, he received a distress beacon from Billy's research facility. "Crap. Billy's group needs back up. You got this Jase?"

"No problem," the Red Ranger replied as the Pegasus Megazord caught the monster's fist and then proceeded to, literally, pound the thing's face in.

Brandon teleported out and appeared just outside Angel Grove at Tri-Lupus' main facility. He took in the situation quickly; TJ was down and unmorphed, but Lightning Cruiser and Storm Blaster had him covered. Kat was dealing with the Tallicks, her Zeo 1 Shield the perfect weapon and protection from their explosion trick. Kat noticed Brandon's arrival and yelled, "Help Justin, I'm fine!"

Knowing better than to argue with a Pink Ranger who had just used the tone Kat did, Brandon looked for Justin, and spotted the Blue Ranger get thrown into a wall by, as Billy had said, something that looked like a reptilian version of Anton Mercer dressed like a Spacing Guild reject. "Well, that explains the attack on Mercer," Brandon thought as he sprinted over and threw a claw strike to the back of the creature's head.

Moving far faster than Brandon had expected it to, the creature evaded the blow. As they faced off Brandon chided himself mentally, "He's fast enough to nail a Turbo Ranger . . . duh." Out loud he tried baiting the creature, "So what are you, Mesagog lite?"

The creature hissed, "Mesagog foolishly rejected his human side. I embrace my duality, as my master commands. I am Cenogog!"

Moving in a blur, Cenogog lashed out with the claws on his three fingered hands. Brandon dodged, but then was knocked back by a wave of concussive force. Looking up he guessed from Cenogog's posture that the creature had hit him with something akin to Mesagog's neural blasts. With a grim smirk Brandon thought of Jason and Tommy's Ranger battle rule number one . . . always bait the bad guy. They can never resist and it makes them sloppy. "That all you got, Mesa-lite?"

Cenogog snarled and leapt at Brandon, but was blasted out of the air by red and blue blaster bolts. He regained his feet only to find himself surrounded by Brandon, Kat, Justin, the now up and re-morphed TJ, and the two living vehicles. The creature looked around, hissed, and then announced, "You've won this one skirmish Rangers, but Lord Thrax shall be victorious!" before vanishing in a flash of green and black teleport energy.


	6. Gathering Power

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Burning Crimson**

**Chapter 6: Gathering Power**

_The last thing he remembered was crimson fire and Draeveus' wordless scream of rage and defeat . . . the sheer, unadulterated glory of the power of the Phoenix. How he had gotten here, he wasn't certain. He was on a bed, covered in a light blanket, and nude. For just a moment he thought that Jason had found him and taken him home after the battle . . . but then he realized that the feel of the mattress under him and the blanket was all wrong . . . the texture of both not being anything like either his or Jason's._

_And there was something else . . . something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Finally, Brandon opened his eyes. This was definitely not his nor Jason's bedroom. The design of the room resembled something out of an ancient Greek or Roman temple, but there was something that looked like a touch-screen built into one of the walls and the door was obviously designed to slide into a pocket and had no visible handle. Overall the room felt ancient and futuristic all at the same time._

_Brandon sat up and pulled the sheet around himself, debating what to do next when the door slid open almost soundlessly. Brandon turned and completely forgot what he was about to say as a well over six foot tall woman with flaming red hair and wearing nothing more than what looked like a green leather bikini with chainmail accents entered the room. "Ah, good, you have finally awoken," she said in a lilting, but oddly accented voice._

"_Um . . . hi," was all Brandon could come up with._

_The woman gave him an indulgent smile, "You most likely have questions."_

_Now Brandon's brain began to work, "Um yeah. How about we start with who are you and where am I?"_

_A flash of something Brandon could only label as regret passed through the woman's jade green eyes before she answered, "I am the Master Warrior Dulcea, and this is the planet Phaedos."_

* * *

Kat was seeing to Justin and TJ, both of whom had suffered some minor injuries in the fight with Cenogog. Billy, Brandon and Finster were reviewing what had happened. "Do we have any idea what they were after?" Brandon asked.

Finster pulled up a sensor recording, "They attempted to teleport into lab 3A."

Brandon looked at Billy, who looked confused, "That's where they're doing the crystalline synthesis experiments."

"Crystalline synthesis?" Brandon asked.

Billy looked at the Crimson Ranger, "We're attempting to develop a type of synthetic quartz that can be used as an energy storage medium. Why would they want that, other worlds already have similar technology?"

"No clue. I'm not even sure yet why Thrax wants the stuff that has been stolen so far," Brandon answered with a sigh.

"I was reviewing the list earlier . . . it's all equipment used in ship and space station construction. Could he be building a battle fleet?" Billy posited.

"Maybe, but it feels bigger than that. Ralana said that Thrax was designed to be an expression of Zedd ideals . . ." Brandon trailed off as he realized that Finster had looked up at the mention of his former mistress. Suddenly things that she had said and Billy's last comment fell into place. "Billy, call up the list of what was stolen."

Looking confused the former Blue Ranger complied, bringing up the list Jason had transmitted earlier that day. Once it was on screen Brandon addressed the former minion of evil, "Finster, take a look at this list for me. Does anything pop into your mind regarding what someone who thinks like Zedd did would do with that stuff?"

Zordon's energy wave had converted Finster into a somewhat portly, older-looking human. He adjusted his glasses and reviewed the screen. Suddenly his eyes widened and he said, "Oh dear. Oh no."

"Finster?" Brandon prompted.

The one time monster maker looked at Brandon said, "The Darkthrone. He's building a new Darkthrone."

"Darkthrone?" Billy asked.

Brandon explained his voice flat, "Imagine the Lunar Palace built into an asteroid, completely mobile and armed to the teeth. Ten thousand years before George Lucas was even born it was our galaxy's version of the Death Star."

* * *

_Dulcea had found him clothes and food, and then attempted to explain what had happened. Brandon's response was to freak and bolt outside. However, once he was outside he stopped, not knowing where to go from there. So, instead he collapsed, his eyes filling with tears._

_In a few minutes he heard soft footsteps approach. "Brandon, it's . . ." Dulcea began to say._

_Brandon rounded on her, anger replacing his heartache, "No! I don't believe you! It's not fair! I gave everything to defeat Draeveus! IT'S NOT FAIR!" Brandon screamed and as he did crimson fire exploded out of him, slamming into Dulcea. Seeing this immediately shocked the anger out of Brandon and the flames died, but Dulcea was nowhere to be found. "Oh no. I don't know . . . I didn't mean . . ."_

"_It is alright Brandon," Dulcea's voice, which seemed to Brandon to be more in his mind than a sound, said._

_Brandon turned and saw a snow white owl land. The owl burst into a whirlwind of sparkling lights which then reformed as Dulcea. "How?" he asked._

_Dulcea smiled, "I am the last Ninjetti Master. Morphing into the form of my animal spirit is merely one of my skills."_

"_And, what did I just do?"_

_Again, Dulcea's expression was almost regretful, "You are now more than just a Power Ranger. You are the Phoenix Champion. In effect, you are a living extension of the universal Morphing Grid. The power you now command is nearly limitless. However, your ability to control it and even your new body's ability to handle it are not."_

_Now it dawned on Brandon what had felt so different when he first woken up . . . he felt like he did when he was morphed, even though he wasn't. He looked at his hands, "How do I control this?"_

_Dulcea approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Your Jyuken training has given you the foundation. Now, I will train you in the next level, the way of the Ninjetti."_

* * *

It was night on Mirinoi. On the edge of the colony-city of Terra Venture lay the home of Mike and Maya Corbett, the former Magna Defender and Yellow Galaxy Ranger. Mike was awoken by an insistent prodding in his side. As his eyes opened, Maya put her hand over his mouth. "Mike, there is someone in the house," she whispered. Mike nodded and Maya removed her hand, continuing, "I don't recognize the presence, but it's powerful."

They rose quietly, Mike reaching into the bedside drawer and retrieving his duty blaster . . . not that he had much use for it on peaceful Mirinoi, but GSA regulations still required him to have it. Maya retrieved the Kerovian made short sword that Karone had given her from her clothes. Usually she only used it to cut plants while helping Kendrix catalogue Mirinoi's plant life, but that didn't mean she wasn't skilled in its use as a weapon.

The pair slowly crept into the front room of their home. In the darkness it was difficult to make out the intruder, but the outline was generally human. What startled Maya and Mike was that he was removing the Magna Defender sword from its case. Though long since exhausted of its powers, neither former Ranger trusted what could be done with it in the wrong hands.

Exchanging a glance with his wife, Mike received a nod in return. He leveled his weapon at the intruder and was about to speak when the intruder spoke first, "Hello Mike, Maya, sorry to show up so early, unannounced."

Neither Mike nor Maya lowered their weapon as the intruder turned, the sword cradled in both hands. Stepping into a shaft of moonlight the intruder said, "We've never been formally introduced, but Leo may have mentioned me. I'm Brandon, the Crimson Ranger."

Mike didn't seem convinced. Maya studied Brandon for a moment, and then put her hand on Mike's and got him to lower his weapon, "He's telling the truth. The _eleri-orn_ lives within him."

Mike looked at his wife, "What?"

She searched for a translation until Brandon offered, "Phoenix."

"Yes," Maya agreed with a smile.

Mike relaxed, mostly. "Okay. But what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"Unfortunately, preparing for the worst." As he spoke, Brandon began to glow crimson. The glow moved from him and enveloped the sword. Mike began to step forward, but Maya held him back. After a few seconds, seconds marked by a look of intense concentration on Brandon's face, the glow turned black and sank into the sword. There was a flash of light and when it cleared the sword, dull since Mike's last battle with it, once again shone in the moonlight. Brandon turned the sword and offered the hilt to Mike.

Mike looked at the sword, and then at Brandon, "What did you do?"

"Originally the sword's power and your ability to morph was provided by the original Magna Defender's spirit acting as a conduit to the Morphing Grid. However, your last battle was more than that kind of connection could handle. I've now linked the sword to the Black energy of the Grid in the same way the Quasar Sabers are linked to their Colors."

Mike's expression was one of shock. "What?" he finally managed to ask.

"A great evil is moving in the Galaxy. Mirinoi will need its defenders. The Galaxy Rangers must take up their Sabers again, and I need the Magna Ranger to take up his sword."

Mike looked into Brandon's eyes and saw the seriousness there. He nodded and reached out, grasping the handle of his sword. As he did so there was a flash of black light around his left wrist. When it cleared Mike was wearing a black and gold version of a Trans-morpher. He studied his wrist for a moment and then, looking at Maya with a grin, he held his sword in a reverse grip in his right hand and mimicked the gesture he had seen his teammates use so many times in the past, but kept his old activation command, "Magna Power!"

Black light consumed Mike and when it cleared he announced, "Magna Ranger!" He and Maya then took a moment to study his armor. It was more streamlined than before, and more closely resembled the Galaxy suits, but still retained a more armored look. Mike's first reaction proved he was related to Leo, "Aww, I miss the cape."


	7. Gathering Darkness

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Burning Crimson**

**Chapter 7: Gathering Darkness**

It was called the Obzydan Waste, an area of space located on the far edge of the galaxy filled dangerous high energy clouds, vast fields of interstellar debris, and a few star systems that have been traditionally associated with the forces of evil . . . most notably the Onyx system.

The fifth planet of the Onyx system was a massive gas giant, twice the size of Jupiter. Hidden among the planet's moons was the construction facility used to build Divatox's space base, as well as nearly half of Dark Specter's fleet. Now it had been adapted for the construction of the new Darkthrone. Within the space dock's massive framework an asteroid over twenty-seven hundred miles in diameter was being hollowed out as it was turned into a fortress.

Vypra stood at the viewport of the dock's command station, reviewing construction data and monitoring the work. The former demoness glanced behind her as the chamber's door slid open with a hiss and she acknowledged Gant with a nod. He came to a stop next to her and looked out the viewport, "Lord Thrax has completed correcting Cenogog for his failure on Earth and now wants a status report on the construction."

Vypra responded, "We are ahead of schedule. Excavation is complete and we have eighty-five percent of the super-structure constructed."

Gant could not cover his shock, "How is that possible?"

With a fanged smile Vypra pushed a few buttons on the console in front of her, converting the viewport into a vid-screen. Caught in the illumination of the dock's lighting was thousands of crawling black shapes. Vypra made an adjustment and brought up a magnified view, bringing the black shapes into focus. They were generally humanoid with large red eyes, pointed ears at the tops of their heads, and small vestigial wings.

Gant stepped back, "What are those things?"

Vypra continued to smile, "Batlings. They're minor demons, barely intelligent, and not terribly powerful. However, they are good for brute labor. I had thought that I had lost the ability to summon them in this new form . . . but I have found the opposite is true. The new power Lord Thrax has given me with this body has enabled me to summon and control more Batlings than I ever dreamed possible."

From behind Vypra and Gant and cold, vaguely metallic voice spoke, "I accept your gratitude Vypra."

The ex-Chancellor and the former demoness turned and kneeled before their master. Thrax was over six feet tall and wearing blood red leather armor with silvery boots, gauntlets, cod-piece, and a chest plate that made him resemble Lord Zedd. He also wore a helmet that resembled his creator's, but featured a T instead of a Z. An additional difference was that, instead of a red visor, the helmet was open revealing his red eyes as a glimpse of blue-gray skin. In his hand he carried silver staff, topped with a stylized T that more resembled axe blades.

With Gant and Vypra still kneeling he strode forward and observed the vid-screen. Although the helmet covered his mouth, the cruel smile that crossed his face was evidenced in his eyes. "I am pleased my servants, most pleased."


	8. Gathering Power Part II

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Burning Crimson**

**Chapter 8: Gathering Power Part II**

_"Within the Morphing Grid there are eight Colors, not counting yours," Dulcea said as she circled Brandon as he worked through the meditative form with his eyes closed. "Each Ranger resonates to a specific Color; however this may not be the same color as their armor. Additionally, a Ranger may change Colors over the course of their life, resonating to a different one based on a variety of factors, but they will always remain connected to their core Color."_

_"So even though Tommy's wearing White now, he will always be Green at his core?" Brandon asked._

_Even though he could not see it, Dulcea smiled, "That is assuming Green was his core Color to begin with." Brandon's expression was confused, so Dulcea tried a different tack, "What is Green?"_

_"Change, transformation. Either as bringer or receiver," Brandon responded._

_"And White?"_

_"Purity, of conviction and will."_

_"Now, think about Tommy. Look at your memories of him through the lens of the Phoenix and tell me what you see."_

_Brandon concentrated and almost stopped moving, until Dulcea swatted him lightly on the backside with her staff, "Continue the form; it will help your focus."_

_Brandon resumed the rote movements and after a few moments spoke, "White. White with tinges of Green at the edges . . . but also some Red, and maybe Black? Violet? I'm not sure. It's like when I tried to see their Gekis through the Power."_

_"White is Tommy's core. The Green is his past."_

_Brandon jumped in, "He needed to go through Green to get to his core White."_

_Dulcea smiled as her student started thinking like a Ninjetti, "Yes. The Red and the other Colors are paths he may take. Other energies the Power may call upon him to utilize. But his core will always be White."_

* * *

Jason and Brandon stood in the middle of the Wind Academy practice field and looked at the mass of masked students surrounding them. "You know," Jason commented, "teleporting directly onto their training field probably wasn't one of your best ideas."

"I was aiming for Sensei Watanabe's study . . . however somebody has teleport shields installed."

Apparently mentioning the attempt to teleport directly into the Sensei's study was the wrong thing to say, as the ninja students and lower ranking teachers promptly charged. Brandon and Jason reached to symbols on the left breasts of their jackets; Brandon grasping the Phoenix symbol, Jason the stylized Ranger lightning bolt, which was actually an ancient Eltaran glyph for Zordon's name. Pulling away, they morphed into their Ninjetti uniforms.

That maneuver shocked the Wind ninjas for just a moment, but then they recovered and pressed the attack. However, even with superior numbers they didn't do too well. The millennia old elemental ninja arts were nothing compared to the eons old ways of the Ninjetti . . . even with the two Rangers doing everything they could to not actually hurt anyone. They were both debating a retreat in order to let things calm down when a strong voice yelled, "STOP!"

The Wind ninjas backed off, dragging the several of their comrades that had been knocked unconscious with them. The circle of ninjas parted to reveal three, one each wearing the color of the elements taught at the Wind Academy, and all in much more ornate training uniforms than the others. There was a pregnant pause and Brandon took the opportunity to look at them the way Dulcea had taught him and smiled under his mask . . . these were the Wind Ninja Rangers.

The one in red . . . Tommy had mentioned his name was Shane, was all Red. It spun and churned in him like a barely contained storm . . . not surprising since he was an Air ninja. The other two were dual Colors . . . the core Morphing Color they drew upon tinted by their traditional ninja elemental color. The girl, Tori, was a Yellow, which swirled with the blue of her Water element. It was no wonder she and Kira got along so well . . . when the opportunity arose Yellows tended to form packs. The other guy, Dustin . . . Brandon was actually somewhat shocked because behind the yellow of his Earth element was Pink. He had never expected to actually find a male Pink on his home planet given Terran gender roles, but Dustin radiated the Color in rhythmic pulses.

The three Senseis broke the moment by striding forward. Their faces were covered with masks leaving only their eyes visible. Shane was glaring, attempting to assert dominance over the situation and obviously pissed at what he perceived as an unprovoked attack on his students. Tori's eyes were calm, placid, studying the situation . . . and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a perceived enemy. Dustin's eyes were relaxed; almost laughing . . . he had already figured out that this was all a misunderstanding, realizing none of the students was actually injured. Brandon glanced at Jason and they both released their Ninjetti forms, reverting to their Ranger uniforms. The three ninja stopped and Shane demanded, "Who the hell are you?"

Brandon groaned and Jason laughed while saying, "You owe me dinner on Aquitar." The ninjas all looked confused.

"Okay, you were right, Tommy spaced on calling ahead for us," Brandon conceded with a sigh. Looking back at Shane, Brandon finally answered his question, "I'm Brandon Loksen, Champion of the Phoenix and the Crimson Ranger." He turned to Jason, "This is Jason Scott, first Red Ranger of Earth." Shane's eyes went wide as Brandon continued, "Tommy Oliver, he of the swiss cheese memory, was supposed to have called and warned you we were coming."

Dustin whipped off his mask, "Dude!" He slapped Shane on the back, "These are, like, some of the original Power Rangers! This is so cool!"

Tori turned to the ninja students and teachers and dismissed them while Shane stood still, dumbly staring at Jason . . . who was starting to shift uncomfortably. Brandon looked at his love and grinned as Jason muttered, "Why do they all do that?" Looking at his mate he said, "I've asked you to stop introducing me like that how many times?"

"Sorry, but it's just too funny. At least this one isn't falling down in worship," Brandon responded with a smirk, referring to Jason's introduction to Cordact. The Camian born Red Solarian Ranger had prostrated himself and offered his neck in submission to the "Great Jason."

Jason scowled as Tori pulled off her mask and introduced herself and Dustin, who was still too busy bouncing with excitement. She then reached up and pulled off Shane's mask and introduced him as well. Once his mask was off Shane began blinking again and seemed to recover some of his composure. Sensei Watanabe and Cam soon joined them and they moved to Ninja Ops.

As they walked Brandon looked at Cam and was unsurprised to find that the traditional Samurai green was merely a cover for Blue. By all accounts Cam was nearly in Billy's class, having developed morphing and zord technology just by studying archival footage. He had even developed a holographic AI that both DECA and Alpha would feel kinship with. If the Samurai loosened up a bit and stopped only building practical things he would definitely be able to give the original Blue Ranger a run for his money.

They entered Ninja Ops and Cam observed, "We have an incoming call." Crossing to the mainframe he brought up the communications program and Tommy's face appeared on screen.

"Hey Cam, I was just calling to let you know that two of my original teammates who are still active will be . . ." Tommy trailed off as Jason and Brandon entered the range of the camera pick up. "Oh, um, hi guys. I see you already got there."

The Red and Crimson Rangers crossed their arms and looked at their friend through the vid-link. "We said one hour after we talked to you Bro," Jason started.

"Um, well . . ."

"We bounced off a teleport shield," Brandon continued. "I hate that."

"You see I . . ."

"We had to beat up ninja students. The Winds are pissed," Jason continued.

"Oh . . . um . . ."

"I lost a bet. Now I owe Jason dinner on Aquitar. You and Kim are coming along."

"Wait, but I hate sea . . ."

"Later Bro," Jason concluded with a smirk. Brandon nudged Cam, who cut the link. Kanoi and the rest of the ninjas started laughing.

When they all calmed down Kanoi spoke up, "So, now that we have that out of the way, how many the ninja of the Wind Academy help you?"

Brandon and Jason sobered and Brandon replied, "I'm afraid we need your team, all of them." Seeing how the two veteran Rangers' demeanors had changed, Cam reached under his shirt and pulled out a pendent with the Academy crest on it, he pushed the lone button on the pendent.

* * *

_Jason threw his jacket on one of the chairs, still snickering to himself. Brandon sighed, rolled his eyes and said, "Beloved, you really need to lay off Tommy about this whole Orange Ranger thing."_

"_Why? He's been four different colors now, and even though he claims he's done, you just know the Power's gonna tap him for active duty again at some point. And he hates orange, so it's funny."_

"_Oh, I'm not saying it's not funny. It's just that . . . you really don't have room to talk."_

_Jason looked confused, "Huh?"_

_Brandon smiled indulgently, "Well, as you know, there really are Orange Rangers, although it's usually called Amber."_

"_Yeah. So?"_

"_Well, Amber is one of two Colors that rarely manifests as itself. The other is Violet. Most often the armor of a Ranger tapping those energies is a different Color. For example, mentors tend to tap Violet . . . which is what Tommy was really pulling through the Black Dinogem."_

_Jason snorted. Brandon countered with, "That was Zordon's Color too," which caused Jason to turn serious. Brandon crossed to him and took his hands, "Sixth Rangers, those who stand somewhat on the outside of the main team and many solo Rangers usually tap into Amber. This is especially true of metallic Rangers as there are no metallic Colors in the Grid."_

"_Wait, are you saying . . .?"_

_Brandon's smile turned mischievous, "Why Beloved, what Color did you think the Gold Staff tapped?"_

* * *

Hunter and Blake had arrived within minutes via ninja-streak. As Jason and Brandon explained the situation Brandon studied the way the Power moved through the Bradley brothers. Even though he knew there was no way Hunter was a true Crimson, his armor being colored in alignment with the ninja tradition for his element, Brandon had to admit that he had been annoyed when he learned about Hunter's first few weeks as a Ranger . . . taking the stance that he had made Crimson look bad. However now Brandon could see he was a Green. Blake on the other hand was a stable, solid Black.

As the Ninjetti finished, Shane spoke up, "Of course if there's a threat to Earth we'll do everything we can to help. But I'm not sure how much we'll be able to do, our Ranger powers are gone. Lothor absorbed most of them and what was left was spent fighting his and Mesagog's combined forces."

Jason just looked to Brandon who smiled, "Don't be too sure of that. Did you bring your morphers?"

The ninjas all exchanged glances, shrugged, and handed over their morphers. Jason and Brandon laid them out in a line on the table and then Brandon knelt down. Picking up Shane's morpher Brandon said, "Please save all applause and questions until the end of the performance."

Brandon closed his eyes, reached into the Grid, and began to glow Crimson. The energy undulated across his body like dancing flames and Jason swallowed hard at the sight. He knew what Brandon was doing was nothing like becoming the Phoenix Avatar, but this phase of the process looked far too similar to that event for Jason's comfort. Jason began to breathe again when the glow moved from Brandon to the morpher, changed to Red, and sank into the device. Brandon repeated the procedure five more times, however each repetition garnered shocked responses as the energy that moved into each morpher was not the color its owner expected.

Brandon set the last morpher, Cam's, down and his eyes found Jason's. For probably the first time since their reunion, the Red Ranger saw tiredness in his love's amber eyes. Brandon quickly covered it, but it was obvious to Jason all of this jumping around the galaxy and recharging morphers was more of a strain on his mate than he was letting on. However, before they could deal with that the ninjas picked up their morphers and Hunter bluntly asked, "What the hell did you do?"

Everyone in the room looked at Hunter. For a brief moment Jason's eyes seemed to flash red and he observed, "You have an odd way of saying thank you."

Blake elbowed his brother none too discretely and Hunter's expression and tone turned apologetic, "Sorry. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but, well, green energy went into my morpher . . . unless I was seeing things, and I'm the Crimson Ranger."

Before either Brandon or Jason could respond Cam added in a tone both apologetic and curious, "Hunter's usual bluntness aside, I did notice the same thing. The energy changed to a different color than what were used to for all the morphers except Shane's."

Brandon stretched and responded, "That's because your ninja colors and your power Colors don't match." When even Cam looked confused Brandon continued, "Your morphers were all designed to tap from the Morphing Grid and produce armors of the colors traditionally associated with the ninja and samurai elements. Well, except Blake and Hunter's. Your morphers tapped Blue and Red respectively and just made darker armors because there is no navy in the Grid and well, I'm the only one who can tap into the Crimson power."

Hunter's expression suggested that he thought the elder Ranger was just being full of himself, and so Brandon added, "Trust me Hunter, your life has been interesting enough already, you don't need what comes with being the real Crimson Ranger on top of it." That seemed to set Hunter back a bit and Brandon continued, "Anyway, while your morphers were designed one way, the reality is the Power chooses the Ranger, not the other way around. So under the Ranger color and elemental color you've layered over it there has always been the Color that you truly are." He looked at each Ranger in turn as he spoke, "Shane, you're a true Red, the Warrior. A born fighter and leader." Shane beamed, until Brandon added, "However, Reds are also stubborn to a fault and prone to trying to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, much to the constant frustration of those who love you." The other ninjas snickered. Jason and Shane shared a commiserative look.

"Tori, by the Power you're a Yellow, the keyword there being Empathy. You understand how others feel and help them deal with that . . . usually by figuratively or literally smacking some sense into them." Tori and Kanoi smiled, the rest of them men studiously looked elsewhere. "However, Yellows are known for bottling their own feelings until they explode . . . usually with extreme violence. Thankfully, so far this has always been directed at the bad guys."

"Hunter, you're a Green . . . and honestly it's considered one of the hardest Colors to bear. Greens are either agents of great change in the world around them, which tends to make them a bit of an outsider, or they undergo great and often painful changes while a Ranger." Brandon left it there; the look that passed through Hunter's eyes told him all he needed to know.

"Cam is Brilliant Blue, the brains of the outfit, but often socially isolated or just plain inept." Tori piped in with, "He's gotten a lot better." Cam blushed furiously as the others laughed. Hunter moved protectively close to Cam. Seeing this Jason and Brandon shared a quick, knowing glance and a smirk.

Moving on Brandon continued, "Blake, you're a Black . . . and seeing you and Hunter I can understand why. Blacks are Foundation; they bring stability to a Ranger team. However, how they do that isn't always the healthiest for them . . . such as playing into the role of the little brother." Now it was Blake's turn to blush.

Brandon was quiet for a moment, until Dustin asked, "Um, what about me?"

Brandon glanced at Jason questioningly; who just shrugged . . . he had seen the Color that went into Dustin's morpher. Sighing, Brandon answered, "Well Dustin, um, you're a Pink."

Before Brandon could start to explain, Dustin said, "Cool!"

"You're okay with that?" Brandon asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be? You said that the Power chooses the Ranger. So, I bet Pink is Heart or something like that."

"Um, yeah," Brandon responded, still shocked.

Dustin looked at Kanoi, "Sensei always said I was a "Ninja of Heart," so it's cool that my Color is for the same thing."

Jason suddenly blurted out, "Oh my god, he's boy Kim."

"Oh yeah," Brandon agreed. "If the Pink Rangers of the Universe ever team up and go evil, we are so doomed."

"Why?" Shane asked, incredulously.

Brandon answered, "Because, you never know what a Pink is truly capable of until they just up and do it."

Dustin just smiled as his teammates gave him wary looks.


	9. Gathering Power Part III

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Burning Crimson**

**Chapter 9: Gathering Power Part III**

_Brandon sat fully morphed in the place of the Adjudicator, studiously ignoring the glare Gant was giving him. It wasn't like he wanted to be adjudicating this trial either. However, given the nature of the trial and the identity of the accused the legal authorities of over a dozen worlds agreed that as the Champion of the Phoenix, effectively the Power's living representative in the Universe, he was the only one qualified to do so._

_Brandon sighed quietly and looked around the Chamber. In the front row of the observation gallery were the representatives of the Allied Worlds, a few of whom he recognized. Gant, the recently named Chancellor of the Eltaran High Council, who appeared to be sulking over the fact that he wasn't serving as Adjudicator and therefore the center of attention . . . Brandon already knew he was going to have to keep an eye on him. Next to him was Trey, looking horribly uncomfortable in his royal robes, he much preferred his Ranger uniform. The Gold Ranger glanced at Gant, looked back at Brandon, and rolled his eyes. Brandon successfully repressed a snicker . . . now was not the time for Brandon to allow his best friend to get him into trouble. In actuality, there were a surprising number of Rangers representing their home worlds' interests; Delphine of Aquitar, Andros of KO-35, and the newly instated Red Ranger of Sirius, Anubis Kruger. Then again, given the charges, maybe it wasn't so surprising._

_The charges and arrest had created such a stir that physical attendance had been limited official representatives of the Allied Worlds. Brandon knew that there were hundreds of onlookers gathered outside the governmental center, as well as billions more in front of vid-screens across this half of the galaxy. Unfortunately, about half the crowd outside were protestors. While they seemed perfectly non-violent, and he trusted the cybernetic Centurions to be non-confrontational, Brandon was not willing to assume the same about the recently created Council Guard. The members were all handpicked by the Council for their unwavering loyalty to the Council and Brandon found them all to be rather trigger-happy. Therefore the members of the new Eltaran Rangers were hidden in the crowd, ready to back up the Centurions and prevent the Guardsmen from making matters worse._

_Brandon looked down to the main floor as a mechanical voice made a throat-clearing sound, "Yes Red Centurion 006?"_

_The Command model Centurion replied, "We are ready to begin whenever you are sir."_

_Brandon sighed internally, centered himself, and said, "Very well, bring in the accused."_

_The lights over the Centurion's optic sensors flashed in sequence. A moment later the doors to the Adjudication Chamber opened. She entered; head held high, back straight, her gait proud, dressed as always in flowing white. Flanking her were two of the heavily armored Combat model Black Centurions. They conducted her to the seat of the accused and she sat. Looking at her squarely through his visor, Brandon said, "Red Centurion 006, please read the charges."_

_"The accused is charged with the following crimes: Endangering a planet's welfare by forcibly retiring an experienced team of Rangers during an active threat; Engaging in deception, including falsifying the statements and visages of Zordon of Eltar and Alpha 5, in order to force the Rangers to comply with their retirement; Violating the free will of two sentient beings through the illegal reprogramming of Blue Centurion 185 and Alpha 6 in order to make them complicit; Finally, endangering a planet's welfare by abandoning her responsibilities as Mentor to an inexperienced Ranger team during an active threat."_

_Brandon centered himself again, lest he allow his anger at his home planet being put in such danger to cloud his objectivity. He addressed the accused, "Dimitria of Inquiris, how do you plead?"_

* * *

Tommy and Jason stood off to one side of the Dinolair as Kim stared down Brandon, "No. They've done their time. You are not dragging them into this!"

Brandon was not backing down, although he kept his body posture relaxed and made sure that he didn't come off as towering over Kim . . . that would only make things worse, "I am not dragging them into anything Kim. I want them to stay out of this fight as much as you do, but the reality is that there's a good chance, too good a chance that the fight will come to them and they need to be able to protect themselves."

Kim huffed, "They don't have powers anymore. Their identities are still secret."

Brandon knew it was a low blow, but he really wasn't willing to lose this argument, "Your and Jason's identities were secret, neither of you had powers and Divatox was able to figure out you were ex-Rangers. You think Thrax can't do the same, even if Cenagog doesn't have Mesagog's memories?"

Jason and Tommy winced. If looks could kill, Brandon would have died several more times right then and there. Kim took a deep breath, ready for whatever rant she was about to launch into when a surprisingly forceful voice asked, "Don't we get a say in this?"

Brandon looked up behind Kim as she spun around, her anger deflating at the sight in front of her; Conner, who had been the one to ask the question, stood in a true Red Ranger command stance flanked by Kira, Ethan, and Trent just like they would have while morphed and facing down a bad guy. Kim sighed deeply, "Kids, you don't have to do this. You're done; you can have normal lives now."

Conner approached Brandon and, as he reached out and placed his Dinogem in the Crimson Ranger's hand, looked at Kim and said, "This is what Rangers do, give up on normal lives so that everyone else has the chance for them. One of the first things you ever taught us."

Tommy laughed. Kim glared at him, but he just responded, "Oh come on Kim. It just figures that the one time he actually listened would come back to bite us in the ass."

Kim sighed again and a wry smiled crossed her lips, "True. Fine, I don't like this, but if it's what you want . . ." She glanced at the teens and got nods from all of them, "Okay, but you know the rules . . ."

Kira interjected, "Yeah, yeah. No dying because if we do you'll find a way to resurrect us so you can kill us again."

"Precisely."

The other three DinoThunder teens handed their gems to Brandon and he repeated the procedure he had completed with the Magna Defender sword and the Ninja morphers. At least, until he got to Trent's gem, "I, I can't recharge this."

Tommy stepped up to him, "What? Why not?"

Brandon studied the gem for a few moments, although his eyes appeared to be defocused and there was a slight crimson glow to them. Finally, he sighed, "The gem's morphogenic structure is fractured."

Tommy released a sigh of his own, although his sounded more frustrated, "Probably from the infusion and then removal of the evil. And having the energy split between Trent and the clone couldn't have helped matters."

"Yeah, too much strain over too short a time."

"So, there's nothing you can do?" Tommy asked, trying to latch onto some hope for Trent.

"Well actually, I can recharge it," he looked at Tommy, "but it would be like when Zordon recharged the Green Power Coin."

Tommy's face darkened and Kim seemed about to jump in, but her husband beat her to the punch, "There's no way I'm letting Trent go through that."

Brandon looked at Tommy with a mysterious smile, "Do you trust me?"

Tommy seemed puzzled and looked back at Jason, who just smirked back at him. Turning back to Brandon he replied, "Yes. Of course."

"Then let me have your gem."

Still looking confused, Tommy handed over the black Dinogem. Brandon studied the gem for a moment and then began glowing crimson again; suddenly he smashed his hands together, effectively smashing the black and white gems together. Looking up at the teens he made eye contact with the White Ranger, "Trent . . . come here."

Trent looked uncertainly at the other teens, and then his mentors, who both gave him reassuring smiles. They seemed to trust the Crimson Ranger, and why not? According to the others Kim had made one call to Eltar and Brandon had shown up and broken Tommy out of that amber casing with little more than a snap of his fingers. He crossed to Brandon and, as he got close, felt his skin start to tingle. It was just like that split second in the morph before the armor manifested, but now it didn't stop. "Give me your left hand," Brandon almost commanded. Trent put his hand out and Brandon quickly dropped what felt like only one gem into it and covered it with his own hands. Suddenly the crimson glow around Brandon flashed at Trent. There was a burst of light and when it cleared everyone but Brandon simultaneously said, "Wow."

Trent looked down at himself through what he realized was his visor. At first, he thought something was wrong with his helmet because he was seeing his old White Ranger armor, but the white parts looked black and the black parts looked gold. Looking up Trent asked, "Am I seeing this right?"

Tommy was just smiling, as was Kim who commented, "Black suits you."

Brandon seemed to sag a little but said, "I know this won't help with you being referred to as "New Tommy," but . . ."

Before he could finish his statement, Kim jumped in with, "Aisha threatened no home cooked meals for a month if Rocky did that again. Somehow she even got his mom in on it too."

"Oh," Brandon smiled, "good. Anyway, since I know White doesn't have the best memories for you, I thought this might help. Although, at your core you're still a White . . . a Ranger who is pure of purpose and will."

Trent looked back at his friends. Kira and Ethan were smiling, Conner was mock-sulking, "He still has the cool helmet." Trent laughed as Conner smirked and winked at him and released his morph. Looking at his bracelet he saw that the gem was now black, but shaped like his old white gem.

The teens all gathered around Trent, looking at his new gem. The adults gathered around Brandon, Jason pushing a chair up for him to sit. Brandon gave his mate an "I'm fine" look. Jason in return gave him a "Do not argue, you will not win" look. Brandon sat down with a rueful smile.

Tommy glanced back at the teens and then looked at Jason and Brandon, "Okay that takes care of the kids. All that's left are the Wilds and those of us who weren't Zeos."

Brandon sighed, "Unfortunately, there's not much I can do for the Wild Force team . . . their powers are tied up with Princess Shayla, and I don't want to have to wake her if I don't have to. She only awakens naturally for Orgs, and forcibly waking her could throw the Animarium's balance out of whack. So at the moment the Silver Guardians and Lightspeed are getting word to them to be on their guard."

Tommy nodded, his expression conveying that he didn't like it, but understood. Kim picked up, "Okay, that just leaves the rest of us."

Brandon smirked, "Actually, all of us need to talk. The others, even Lightspeed, are going to look to our lead in this and we need to all be on the same page."

Tommy looked to the computer terminals, "I can set up a teleconference."

Brandon shook his head, "No, we need to be face to face." He looked at Kim, "Can you make the phone calls?"

Kim smiled at Brandon with an arched eyebrow, "You're asking if I can make phone calls?" Brandon chuckled as Kim continued, "What should I tell them?"

"Be ready for teleport in about an hour, I'll . . ."

Jason interrupted him, "I'll teleport everyone here."

Brandon gave Jason a hard look, "I can get everyone at once."

Jason returned Brandon's look, "Can you?"

The Crimson Ranger held out for another second and then sagged, "Probably not safely, no. But it's a lot of work, can you handle it?"

Jason's look softened, pleased that Brandon wasn't being pig-headed about this, "Billy, Kat, 'Sha, and Rocky are all in Angel Grove. Adam and Tanya are in LA. Zack and Trini are in Brussels. It's only three trips, no problem."

"Okay," Brandon nodded. Turning back to Kim he amended the plan, "Okay, tell everybody to be ready in about an hour, Jason will pick them up. Use the transponders Billy gave everybody so Jase can get a fix."

Kim nodded and then went off to make the necessary calls. Tommy watched her go and then said, "I'd better go get the house ready for that many people."

"Actually," Brandon interjected, "Could you have the kids run into town and take over for Haley and have her join us?"

* * *

Dalos V was a minimum security penal colony, reserved for those convicted of non-violent political crimes. In most cases it was hard to tell the colony from any other. Most inmates had their own quarters comprised of a small bungalow adapted to their biological needs for rest and sanitation. There were gardens, a library, and other recreations. They were even allowed to wear their normal clothing. The only things that gave any indication of the true purpose of the colony were the identification brace, which also served to suppress any unique or racial powers or abilities, worn by each inmate; the multi-layer forcedome surrounding the facilities; and the Centurion guards and administrator.

Inmate #043097, once known as Dimitria of Inquiris sat reading on an arbor-covered patio near the edge of the area in which the inmates were allowed to wander. Suddenly the peace and quiet was interrupted by the muffled sound of an explosion coming from above her. Dimitria looked up and saw a bundle of dark energy crackling against the outermost layer of the forcedome. Within seconds the first layer collapsed and the energy began struggling against the second. From all over the colony various colored Centurion units came running, mostly the more combat oriented Blacks, the Blues that served as the primary guards, and the local Red command unit.

Dimitria's attention returned to the ground level when she realized she was being addressed by one of the Centurions. Looking into the optical sensor of one of the Blue guards it repeated its command, "Inmate #043097, you are ordered to return to your quarters immediately. Failure to comply will result in . . ." Whatever else it was about to say was cut off by a loud explosion as the second layer of the dome collapsed and the energy slammed into the final layer.

At this point the Blue bodily pushed her in the direction of the dwellings as it drew its Synergizer and prepared for combat. An instant later the last dome collapsed and the energy landed, in a flash revealing a small attack force comprised of three unique individuals and a dozen metallic looking foot soldiers. Dimitria, still an Inquiran despite her peoples' official denial of her, studied them. One was a Camian male of the winged sub-type in golden armor. With him stood a humanoid reptilian matching no type known to Dimitria and therefore of uncertain gender, if any. The third was a winged humanoid female in silver armor who also did not match any species she knew of. The Camian yelled, "Attack!" and the warriors and foot soldiers engaged the Centurions.

Dimitria began to back away, thinking that perhaps it was now best to follow the Blue Centurion's command when she sensed the teleportation pulse behind her. She turned and almost cried out at the sight before her. However, her mind quickly noted the differences between this individual and who she initially thought it was, and so instead of crying out she asked, "Who are you?"

The red and silver armored figure seemed to regard her for a moment, and then snapped his fingers. The helmet vanished revealing an extremely attractive blue-grey skinned male with red eyes and ebony hair. He smiled; it was a feral and cunning expression, but also very alluring and responded, "I am Thrax, Heir of the Zedd."

Dimitria straightened and looked at Thrax squarely, "Lord Zedd is gone."

Thrax continued to smile as the battle waged around them, "Yes, Lord Zedd fell. But I am not a collection of ancient mystics possessing the body of some lowly historian. I am the ideals of the Zedd given physical form. All of their power and knowledge wrapped in flesh."

"What do you want from me?"

"You intrigue me, Dimitria of Inquiris." He stepped closer and she took a step back, "Denied your own Ranger team but chosen as Zordon's successor on Earth. Through cunning and guile you removed Zordon's children and replaced them with a team of your own, only to find them corrupted away from your control by the influence of their predecessors."

"That's not how . . ."

Thrax continued, "So then you seek glory in the battle with the UAE. Glory you earned, leading the forces of the Light to several stunning victories, only to have that glory snatched away when you are accused of treason, vilified for seeking to live free from Zordon's shadow. Stripped of your honor, your name spat upon by your own people while your sister, the former pirate queen, is celebrated."

Dimitria turned her back on Thrax, not wanting him to see her struggle to control the rage that burned within her. He moved closer, placing and armored hand upon her shoulder, "You continue to wear the white robes of an Inquiran cleric, but I can feel the darkness in your heart." She began to move away, but he lowered his lips to her ear and his breath was warm against her skin, "It is . . . intoxicating."

Dimitria's voice was thick as she spoke, "You never answered my question."

"I want to give you power. I want to give you the vehicle by which to vent your rage at the galaxy that has so abused you. I want you at my side as I take my rightful place as Emperor of the Universe . . . as my Empress."


	10. Once a Ranger

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 10: Once a Ranger**

Flashes of red, yellow, and black signaled Jason's arrival at the Oliver home with Zack and Trini, the final teleport trip he needed to make. There was yet another round of greetings, even though Zordon's Rangers were never out of contact with each other for more than a few days.

In the midst of the chaos of everyone getting settled Brandon's amber found Jason's chocolate eyes and the Crimson Ranger inclined his head towards the study. Jason nodded in acknowledgement and the couple moved into the room. Once there Brandon spoke in a whisper, "I haven't told the others yet, but I just got word through Alpha . . . Dalos V was attacked."

"Isn't that where . . .?" Jason asked, not naming the Turbo Rangers' former mentor as she was still a sore subject with Tommy, Adam, Tanya, and Kat. When Brandon nodded Jason swore.

"The reports from the surviving inmates and Centurions indicate that she appears to have gone with Thrax willingly."

Before Jason could respond to that news, Tommy wandered in and announced, "We're ready whenever you guys are."

"Okay Tom," Brandon replied and he started to follow Tommy. However, Jason grabbed his arm.

"Are you sure you're up to this? You still look tired."

Brandon smiled at his mate and put his free hand over Jason's, "Yeah. I'm tired, but it's a good tired. A human tired . . . I don't get to feel that too often these days." Jason smiled back in understanding and they kissed.

From the living room Zack yelled out, "Hey, if they get to take time to make out, so do we!"

Brandon broke off the kiss and yelled back as he and Jason walked into the living room, "Zack, I think Trini needs to be worried about how jealous you get whenever I kiss Jase." The collected former Rangers shared a laugh at the original Black Ranger's expense, which he joined heartily.

As the laughter died down, Brandon took the opportunity to look around the room. Unsurprisingly, everyone was seated by couples. Kim was seated in one armchair, Tommy leaning on the back. Rocky was sitting on one arm of the couch with Aisha next to him on the seat proper. Next to them were Adam and Tanya. The opposite arm of the couch was occupied by Billy, Kat seated and holding his hand in a chair from the kitchen. The other armchair was occupied by Zack on the arm and Trini in the seat . . . they had been the last of the Chosen to pair off, years of working hand-in-hand while dancing around each other had finally resulted in a mutual acknowledgment of their feelings and a wedding just prior to Tommy beginning work at Reefside High. The "odd woman out," Haley, stood near the back of the room, looking confused as to why she was here. Brandon couldn't suppress a moment of nostalgia;

_Even though they had received assurances through Trey that he was alright, it was almost a month after the Serpentera mission before the original Rangers heard anything from Jason. Even then the message was brief, simply saying that he would be home in a few days and that he needed all the originals together._

_They had gathered at Billy and Kat's. Being the first married, and also the most successful financially, the former Blue and Pink Rangers were the only ones with a home large and private enough for such a gathering. Uncertain how far Jason was extending "originals," Tommy and Kim had brought together everyone Jason had served with . . . which worked out because Rocky and Aisha were still dealing with her grandmother's health, which had kept Rocky away from the Red mission to begin with, and Justin was in the midst of finals._

_The group spent a comfortable hour chatting until Tommy's communicator beeped, followed moments later by the red teleportation flash that deposited Jason in their midst. Everyone rose to greet him and gain direct assurance he was alright. There were, of course, the inevitable questions about where he had been, what was going on, etc. Jason got everyone quiet and to back off a little before he responded, "I have something that will answer all of your questions. I just need to have it teleported down from the ship."_

_His teammates, his family, backed off a bit and Jason lifted his communicator to his face and spoke into it, "Okay, we're ready down here." A moment later a flash of crimson and gold fire revealed Brandon._

_All of the original Rangers gaped, open mouthed at Brandon. Then, as one, they looked at Jason who responded with a joyful smile. The next thing Brandon knew he was on the floor with an armful of screaming Kimberly, who was trying to vent joy and shock at his return, while simultaneously berating him from being gone so long._

_The others were a bit more cautious. Tommy looked deeply into Jason's eyes and asked, "Bro?"_

_Still smiling, Jason replied, "It's really him. The body's new," Jason blushed slightly, "but it's really him."_

_That was apparently all the reassurance Tommy, Zack, Billy, and Trini needed, as they joined in the dog pile on the Crimson Ranger. Adam and Tanya stood back, confused, with Kat, who was in tears. Being with Billy had given her a greater knowledge of Brandon and the impact he had on the team than the others who came after him. Her tears were of joy over the return of the missing piece of her husband and their extended family's heart._

_From somewhere under the pile of ex-Rangers Brandon's muffled voice could be heard, "Ranger physiology notwithstanding, I need to breathe sometime!"_

_Jason came to the rescue, pulling his friends off, "Hey, that's my fiancé you're smothering!"_

_Kim looked up, "Fiancé?"_

_Jason's eyes went wide and he managed to get out, "Uh oh," before he was knocked to the floor by a hyper Kim, who launched into a barrage of wedding planning_.

Brandon was snapped out of his reminisce by a discreet prod from Jason. He blushed slightly and then addressed the assembled Rangers, "Okay, we've pretty much kept you all abreast of the basics. There's a threat to the whole galaxy that will more than likely have a particular mad-on for Earth Rangers and so we need to be prepared." He paused with a smile, "But you know, as nice as Tommy and Kim's house is, this really isn't the most appropriate place for this kind of conversation."

Tommy asked, "The Lair?"

"No, I have someplace else in mind," suddenly Brandon gestured and the room was filled with multi-colored flashes of light.

* * *

The Inquiran system was actually two star systems. Each star had a group of planets that orbited them, and then stars orbited each other. This resulted in the system having two habitable worlds a few thousand square miles larger than Earth and a total of six habitable Earth-sized moons orbiting several gas giants. Thousands of years ago, due to their respect for nature, the Inquirans had moved large portions of their population off Inquiris Prime to the other habitable world and moons. This enabled them to have a population in the tens of billions, but to keep the population on any one planet well below the limit of what that planet could handle.

Dimitria was actually from Inquiris Gam, the first of the moons to be colonized. It was also where Divatox, again going by her birth name of Devania, was now living in the ancestral family compound. Therefore, as word spread throughout the galaxy that Dimitria had been freed from prison by Thrax it should have surprised no one when the new Darkthrone dropped out of hyper rush just outside Gam's gravity well.

The Inquiran defense forces fought valiantly, but they were no match for the Darkthrone's armaments. Any escape ships leaving the surface were also destroyed. Dimitria watched all of this from the command deck. However, it was doubtful that a casual observer would recognize her anymore. While she still wore her chestnut hair in a curled cascade from a topknot, gone were the white robes of an Inquiran cleric, instead she was now all in black. A heavy blouse with flared sleeves that were tucked into long, armored, leather gloves was partially covered by an armored bodice. The only color, a silver trimmed red sash, was wrapped around her hips over the black leather pants that were tucked into stiletto calf boots. A cold, malicious smile curled across her ruby lips.

Thrax came up beside her and wrapped his free arm around her shoulders, "So much better, isn't it, than playing the loyal servant of the Light?"

"Oh yes," Dimitria purred. She then looked at Thrax, "May I?"

His eyes conveyed the cold smile he gave her beneath his helmet, "Oh course my dear. Consider this my dowry to you."

Thrax stepped back as Dimitria stepped forward. Stance spread, hands on hips, Dimitria commanded, "All cannons, target the moon for destruction."

The Batlings and Tallicks manning the controls made the necessary adjustments. Dimitria smiled coldly again and muttered, "Goodbye sister," before aloud commanding, "FIRE!"

* * *

Thirteen flashes of multi-colored teleport energy heralded the arrival of the bulk of Zordon's Chosen plus Haley in an otherwise darkened chamber. Everyone immediately started looking around. There was a soft hum in the air and some shapes could be made out in the darkness.

Kim, as usual, was the first to speak, "Jase, Brandon . . . where the hell are we?"

The grin was obvious in Brandon's voice as he answered, "Someplace far more appropriate for the Chosen of Zordon to battle Thrax from."

The moment Brandon finished, Jason commanded, "Power up!" In response six tubes, spaced evenly around what had to be the walls, filled with multi-colored energy which moved along an arching path towards the apex of what was now obviously a dome. At the apex the energy tubes connected in a half-sphere which blazed with light as the energy reached it. At the same moment the three semi-circular banks of computers came to life.

While neither Tanya nor Haley seemed moved, the former having only spent a few hours here, and the latter have never seen this place in anything other than Tommy's video, the rest of the original Rangers were clearly too shocked to speak. The girls were in tears and the guys were obviously fighting them. Finally it was Billy who broke the silence, "You . . . you recreated the Command Center."

Jason's grin threatened to split his face in half, "Well, not exactly. Structurally, yeah it's an exact copy. However the mechanical and computer systems are based on the Power Chamber tech and what we have on Eltar. And, it is missing a few intangibles."

Aisha shook her head, "No. No, he's here. At least in spirit."

Everyone seemed to agree to that. After a few moments Zack's curiosity got the better of him and he asked, "Man guys, how did you pull this off?"

Brandon shrugged, "I've got dozens of races that, despite my best efforts to dissuade them, feel like they owe me something. And, my best friend is the crown prince of a whole planet and a Ranger to boot."

"So, you wouldn't happen to have Power Coins to go with all of this, would you?" Rocky asked, having already relocated his old leaning spot on one of the consoles.

Brandon shook his head, "No, sorry. However, the Zeo Crystal is re-assembled and fully operational."

"Well, that's five of us," Tommy observed, "What about the rest?"

Brandon exchanged a looked with Jason and then continued, "Actually, at the moment, that's only two of you." And the questioning looks, he continued, "I've come to the conclusion that the only way to fight Thrax is to rebuild the Ninjetti order. To that end I need everyone who trained with Ninjor to come with me and Jase to Phaedos and become Ninjetti. Everybody else will stay here and hold down the fort with the Zeo powers."

The ex-Rangers all exchanged confused glances, especially the two couples that this would separate; Adam and Tanya, and Billy and Kat, who had always known she wasn't really the Pink Crane. Haley also looked extremely confused. Given what she knew of the various powers this group had wielded, the numbers just weren't adding up in a way that made sense to her.

Brandon continued, "Guys, I know I'm asking a lot. I know you all have lives that this will interrupt. And I hate to ask this of you guys," he looked at the two couples that were divided by their Ranger histories, "but the only way to become Ninjetti without having trained since childhood is to either have tapped into several different aspects of the grid, like Jason, been trained as an animal spirit ninja, or be me."

A ten way glance went around the room, that wordless communication that comes from long histories and total trust asserting itself, and then Tommy assumed his leader role, speaking for the group, "What, did you really think we'd say no?"

Brandon looked visibly relieved as Jason chuckled. Tommy smiled and continued, "Well, since that's settled, I guess we need to fill out the Zeo team." With flicks of his wrists he manifested his Zeonizers and unstrapped them. He then crossed to Trini and Zack.

Trini moved out of the way, assuming Tommy was going to Zack, so she was a bit shocked when Tommy changed direction and held the Zeonizers out to her. "Tommy?" she looked into his eyes, confused.

"I can't think of anyone better to lead a team of Rangers. Besides, it's about time for a female Red Ranger," Tommy answered her. From behind him, Kim interjected, "Damn right!"

Everyone chuckled, but Trini bit her lip and looked at Zack, who smiled reassuringly and said, "Hey, I've been following your lead for years, no reason stop now."

Trini smiled and accepted the Zeonizers. She strapped them on and jumped almost imperceptibly as the Power linked to her. Through Brandon's eyes her blazing Yellow became tinged with a corona of Red.

"My turn," Adam announced, manifesting his own Zeonizers. No one was really surprised when he crossed to Zack and said, "Time I returned the favor."

Zack accepted the morphers with a smile, one which grew even larger as the Power linked to him, "I do look good in green." His Black was now layered with a grid of Green.

Haley appeared to almost jump out of her skin when Rocky stepped in front of her, holding out his Zeonizers. "You . . . you can't be serious," she stammered.

"Blue's never really been my color, even less so than Red was. So, it's about time my Zeo crystal went with someone with the brains to live up to the Blue mantel," Rocky explained.

Haley argued, "I don't have what it takes to be a Ranger."

"Yes you do," everyone looked at Brandon as he spoke. "I knew it the first time I met you. Everyone one in the Universe with good in their heart is connected to the Power. In most people, it's a vague colorless glow. But people who are destined to be Rangers blaze their Color. You're a Blue through and through," he explained as he watched the shifting fractal that was Haley's connection to the Grid.

Haley looked to Tommy and Kim, and seeing their support, their belief in her, she straightened her back and accepted the morphers. She jumped slightly as the Power linked to her, "Wow."

Kat put a hand on her shoulder as the new Zeo team began to form up, "Oh, you haven't felt anything yet."

Jason stopped Zack, "So bro, you gonna be okay being the only guy?"

Zack looked at his new teammates and then back at Jason. "Hmm, surrounded by beautiful women in spandex," he replied with a hint of sarcasm, "I think I'll manage."

Everyone laughed as the Zeo Rangers lined up. The laughter was cut off as Trini commanded, "It's Morphin' Time!"

"Zeo Ranger 1, Pink!"

"Zeo Ranger 2, Yellow!"

"Zeo Ranger 3, Blue!"

"Zeo Ranger 4, Green!"

"Zeo Ranger 5, Red!"

Once the morphing flashes cleared, the new Zeo Rangers removed their helmets. Trini, Zack, and Haley looked down at their new armors. Seeing the Red and Blue armors, Tommy commented, "Well, that's new," as Trini and Haley fingered their skirts.

Jason pointed at Brandon, "That would be his doing."

Brandon just shrugged, "Well, in talking to Dustin I found out that being the first male Yellow resulted in a few embarrassing moments with the public, such as every news report referring to him as her for the first month. So, figuring the Red and Blue crystals would go to Trini and Haley, I made a few adjustments."

"I like it," Haley commented.

"I think it fits," Trini agreed.

"And it will make everyone very aware that we are the first mostly female team of Rangers," Tanya declared.

Everyone laughed . . . until Brandon grabbed his chest and staggered back into one of the consoles.

Jason was at his side instantly, "Baby, what is it?"

Brandon took a few centering breaths and then muttered, "I am getting really sick of _Star Wars_ references."

"What?" Jason asked, still worried.

Looking into his mate's eyes Brandon quoted, "It was like millions of voices cried out in terror, and then were suddenly silenced." Seeing confusion in Jason's eyes, he explained, "A planet. By the Power, they've destroyed a planet."


	11. Defenders

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 11: Defenders**

Officially it was called Lightspeed Rescue Submersible Operations Platform 01; however the majority of people who lived or worked on it, as well as the people of nearby Mariner Bay called it Lightspeed Island. A marvel of modern engineering, the nearly five square mile platform was built over the site of the original Aquabase and was tied to the ocean floor by an even more advanced hydraulics system than was used for the Rail Rescue launch bay. Coupled with technology that allowed every structure on the platform to be rendered completely watertight, the facility could be submerged as a defensive maneuver in less than three minutes.

Admiral William Mitchell entered the Operations Center and was immediately approached by the duty Lieutenant. The young officer saluted and once the Admiral had returned to gesture, she began her report, "Puddlejumper 1 is ten minutes out with four of the Turtle Cove group. The fifth is eight minutes out; we're prepping the main runway to accommodate her Raptor. Puddlejumper 2 is twenty minutes out with the final member of the Turtle Cove group . . . and an additional passenger he was unwilling to leave behind."

Mitchell nodded, "It's alright Lieutenant, I was aware that we might have an extra. He's been vouched for. And the rest of our guest list?"

"Aye sir. The Silver Guardian contingent just cleared Checkpoint Gamma and is on the bridge now." She stopped speaking and put her hand to the ear-piece she was wearing, and then spoke into the mike at her collar, "Confirmed. Let them pass." Turning to the Admiral, she added, "T1 and T2 just arrived at Checkpoint Alpha. I've cleared them through to the bridge."

"Why weren't they immediately cleared?"

"Their vehicles looked like normal cars, which was not what we were told to expect."

Mitchell smiled, "It's alright Lieutenant, apparently they've picked up a new trick."

"Admiral," the Communication Officer called for Mitchell's attention, "I have a call on the secure line from a CW requesting . . . streak? Yes, streak access by six and asking that we not shoot them. Code provided; wind, water, earth, lightning, thunder, star."

Mitchell chuckled and then responded, "Code is verified; give them the GPS for the area directly in front of the main building."

"Aye sir," the officer responded with a confused tone.

Steadily, the Rangers arrived. Wes Collins and Eric Myers, leaders of the Silver Guardians and the Red and Quantum Timeforce Rangers respectively had arrived in their standard Guardians SUV. TJ Johnson, Red Lightning Turbo Ranger and Justin Stewart, Blue Mountain Blaster Turbo Ranger had pulled up in Lighting Cruiser and Storm Blaster right behind them. The two living vehicles morphed from their disguises as an ordinary sports car and jeep to their natural forms as they came to a stop.

A few minutes later the Blackhawk helicopter designated Puddlejumper 1 deposited Cole Evans, the Red Lion; Alyssa Enrile, the White Tiger; Danny Delgado, the Black Bison; and Max Cooper, the Blue Shark Wildforce Rangers on the helipad adjacent to the main building. Almost immediately a jeep pulled up carrying Taylor Ernhart, the Yellow Eagle Wildforce Ranger, from the hangar where she parked her Air Force Raptor. While everyone was standing around, waiting for the last of the Wildforce team to arrive and passing around introductions, the Ninja Storm Rangers ninja-streaked in.

Finally, Puddlejumper 2 arrived and dropped off Merrick Baliton, Silver Wolf Wildforce Ranger and a non-descript man of a similar build to Merrick, with dark hair, almost yellow-looking eyes, and dressed in black. The assembled Rangers followed Admiral Mitchell, who had come out to meet them, into the main building and that's when all hell broke loose.

Walking through a set of scanners that resembled a metal detector, Merrick's companion triggered an alarm . . . an alarm that caused every Lightspeed officer save Mitchell to draw their weapon and level them at the young man. Unfortunately, the surprise and the octave of the alarm caused Zen Aku to lose his concentration and revert to his natural form . . . the Lightspeed officers chambered rounds.

Mitchell yelled, "Stand down! All of you stand down!"

The sergeant on duty did not comply; instead he tried to argue, "Sir, it set off the demo . . ." Whatever else he was about to say was cut off as a loud metallic whine sounded and he felt cold metal pressed up against the side of his head. This was followed by a quieter whine, the sound of a semi-automatic round being chambered, and a growl.

The first whine and the sensation of cold metal came from Eric powering up the Quantum Defender and pressing it to the sergeant's head. The second was Wes drawing his Silver Guardian Pulser and aiming it at the next nearest guard. Taylor had drawn her own sidearm and picked a third target, and the growl was from Merrick and directed at anyone who didn't have a weapon pointed at them . . . although, since those individuals also had a ninja or a samurai within striking distance, they weren't much safer.

Taylor gave her own snarl, "You seem to have a problem understanding what the command stand down means _Sergeant_."

The sergeant recognized the command tone used on him and his eyes went to Taylor . . . he had the good manners to pale slightly at her captain's bars. "No, ma'am." The other guards all lowered their weapons and Wes and Taylor lowered theirs. However, the sergeant, while he lowered his weapon, kept it ready-to-fire. Therefore, Eric kept the Quantum Defender the same way. The sergeant now addressed Mitchell, "Admiral, this thing set off the demon sensor. Per SOP . . ."

Eric made eye contact with Mitchell, who nodded and Eric lowered his weapon. Standing in front of the sergeant, he addressed his subordinate, "I wrote the Standard Operating Procedure, so am well aware of what it says." The sergeant safetied his weapon. "This _**being**_," Mitchell emphasized the word, "is vouched for by a room full of Power Rangers. He has my authorization to be here. Do I make myself clear?!"

"Yes sir."

"Good." Mitchell now turned to Zen Aku, "I apologize; I didn't realize you would set off the ectoplasmic sensor. It's a holdover from the fight with the Bansheera Clan."

"I understand," Zen Aku replied. He then exchanged a glance with Merrick and said, "We should have thought of that." Merrick just shrugged. Looking back and realizing he was now being stared at, Zen Aku explained, "I am technically partly demon . . . or I should say an infusion of demonic energy was needed when I was created to hold the otherwise incompatible wolf and Org essences together."

Everyone seemed to absorb that and then Mitchell conducted them to the main briefing auditorium where the Lightspeed Rangers were waiting: Carter Grayson, Red; Dana Mitchell; Pink; Chad Lee, Blue; Kelsey Winslow, Yellow; Joel Rawlings, Green; and Ryan Mitchell, Titanium. Also present was the Lightspeed Rangers' designer and technician, Dr. Angela Fairweather-Rawlings. Another round of introductions and greetings went around the room.

As was often the case with a gathering of multiple teams of Rangers, small groups formed. The Reds, plus Eric formed a knot and began discussing the issues at hand. Taylor commiserated with Admiral Mitchell on the dramas of command. Ryan, having been raised half his life by demons, as well as being something of a loner, immediately gravitated to Zen Aku and Merrick. Cam found Angela and Justin and within thirty seconds their conversation was well over the heads of everyone else in the room. The rest of the group, being a variety of colors, divided up by gender.

After a few minutes, Mitchell excused himself to answer the beeping of his earpiece, "Mitchell here. Go ahead."

"_Sir, we have another call on the secure line. The D and Z groups are requesting teleport access. Codes have been verified."_

"Granted. Open the teleport shields."

The communications officer responded, _"Aye sir,"_ and then closed the line. A second later everyone's attention was drawn to nine flashes of colored light on the stage.

Conner wobbled a little and Ethan caught him. Looking a little green at the edges, Conner commented, "I should have just run here."

Zack said, "You'll get used to it eventually," and slapped Conner on the back. Conner's eyes went wide and his hands went to his mouth. Dana raced forward and quickly conducted Conner from the room.

"Zachary!"

Zack turned to face the look not only his wife was giving him, but all of his teammates. "Oops?" he responded with a shrug. As the women rolled their eyes at him, he muttered, "I knew there had to be a downside to being the only guy on this team."

Rolling her eyes again, Trini cleared her throat as her team and the remainder of the DinoThunder Rangers took seats, as did the rest of the assembled Rangers. Looking at Admiral Mitchell he nodded and Trini took the podium, "Let's get started. My name is Trini Kwan-Taylor. I was the first Yellow Ranger of Earth and am now the Red Zeo Ranger." The female Rangers applauded and Taylor good-naturedly stuck her tongue out at Cole.

"Thank you." Trini then introduced the rest of her team and the DinoThunders, including the absent Conner. The mention of the youngest Red prompted some snickering at his plight, mainly from Joel, Max, and Hunter. Trini arched an eyebrow, "Some people find teleportation a bit disconcerting, but all of you will get to find out for yourselves. Immediately following this meeting Haley, Dr. Fairweather, Justin, and Cam will be integrating circuits into your morphers that will allow you to access the Command Center teleportation system. Wildforce will be receiving communicators with the same access." Hunter, Joel, and Max all stopped laughing.

"Now, to the business at hand." Trini proceeded to outline the situation, giving the assembled Rangers everything that Brandon and Jason had been able to uncover about the threat posed by Thrax . . . including the defection of Dimitria and the destruction of Inquiris Gam.

News of the destruction of an entire planet sent a shockwave through the room. Eric was the first to find his voice, "Then what's the point of all this preparation if they can just drop into orbit and blow up the whole damn planet in one attack?"

A murmur of agreement went through the room. Trini waited for it to die down before responding, "Thankfully, it's not that easy. The energy output required for a planet-buster is enormous and does massive damage to the Darkthrone's weapons systems. After any such attack they have to retreat and refit, so it's an option they will use sparingly and mostly to generate fear. What we can primarily expect is more traditional attacks with foot soldiers, generals, and monsters. However, as the Lightspeed team has already discovered, these attacks will be far nastier than anything we have ever faced. Our defenses will be coordinated from the Command Center, with Lightspeed operations, Ninja Ops, and the Dino Lair serving as secondary bases."

Trini outlined a few more details of the defense plans and scheduled a meeting with the Reds. She concluded by saying, "Earth will be a primary target. We've kicked evil's ass too many times for it not to be. We will face Thrax and kick his ass every bit as hard. Remember, once a Ranger, always a Ranger."


	12. Ninjetti

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 12: Ninjetti**

_"It's been nearly two days," Brandon commented as, for the hundredth time, he stopped pacing, leaned over the railing of the temple courtyard, and peered into the Neola valley._

_Dulcea didn't break her lotus position or open her eyes, but responded, "Your quest to the Temple took three days. And that was merely a formality of tradition."_

_Brandon looked back at the Ninjetti Master, "Yeah, such a formality that the Jungle threw every defense and challenge your people built into it at me. I mean, I was alone, was it really fair for all four Temple Guards to attack?"_

_Dulcea cracked a bit of a smile, "Well, you are the most powerful being to approach the Temple in recorded memory."_

_"My point exactly! I had the power to handle the challenges. Jason's all by himself and can only take Warrior form," Brandon's voice was thick with worry._

_Now Dulcea looked at him, "The Challenges adapt to the quester. Yes, they are dangerous, but not insurmountable as long as Jason trusts in himself and the Stallion Spirit." Dulcea's eyes then shifted to look at something past Brandon and she smiled, "Which it appears he did."_

_Brandon turned just in time to see a burst of red light streak out of the jungle. He turned as the light landed in the courtyard behind him and materialized a figure in red, black, and gold Ranger armor. The design resembled a cross between Brandon's current Crimson Ranger armor and the original Morphin' armors. The helmet was in a style similar to the Morphin' helmets, being a stylized horse head. There was a flash of red light and the helmet vanished, revealing the smiling face of Jason Scott._

* * *

A burst of crimson fire, tinged with a kaleidoscope of other colors flashed into existence on the surface of the planet Phaedos. When it faded it revealed the figures of Brandon, Jason, and the original Rangers who had become ninja under the tutelage of Ninjor. Brandon immediately bent over, placing his hands on his knees and started breathing heavily. Jason and Kim were at his side immediately.

"Are you okay?" Kim asked, her voice full of concern.

"Yeah," Brandon breathed hard. "It's just . . . teleporting to Phaedos isn't like going anywhere else." Brandon took another deep breath, "The Temple's defenses make it like trying to swim through syrup at the best of times, even for me." Brandon straightened, taking another deep breath, "Add seven people and that just increases the fun level." He looked at Kim and the others and smiled, "But I'm okay now. From this point, you guys will be the ones expending all the energy."

"Don't be too sure of that, Champion," a strangely accented, lilting voice announced. Brandon dived out of the way as a crystal-topped staff slammed into the ground where he was standing.

Rolling out of the way, Brandon regained his feet transforming into his Ninjetti garb as he did with a command of, "Ninjetti! The Phoenix!"

The other Rangers immediately tried to jump to Brandon's aid, but were stopped by Jason, "Wait."

Tommy found Jason's eyes and was about to challenge him, but stopped dead when he found the mirth there. Now Tommy actually watched the fight. It was definitely fierce and Brandon's attacker, an incredibly tall flame-haired woman wearing little more than a green leather bikini and knee boots, was beyond skilled, but Brandon was holding his own. The more he watched, the more Tommy realized that neither Brandon nor the woman were fighting at their full capacity. Tommy's smirk matched Jason's as he realized what this was . . . a spar.

The realization dawned on the rest of the Rangers, and they decided to enjoy the show. "She's amazing," Adam commented, his voice conveying a pure admiration of the woman's skill.

"Yeah," Rocky agreed, his voice carrying a bit more than just admiration. This was promptly followed him gasping sharply as Aisha elbowed him.

"**Your** wife is on the same planet as you," she reminded him. Kim giggled.

While Rocky tried to apologize the rest of the Rangers continued to watch the spar. The speed at which Brandon and his opponent moved impressed even Tommy. Their strikes and counters were a blur . . . but it quickly became clear who was Master and who was Student as the woman slipped her staff past Brandon's defenses and swept his legs out from under him. The Phoenix landed hard on his back on the stony ground. Before he could recover he found the crystal end of the staff at his throat.

Brandon stared into the woman's eyes and his Ninjetti garb faded away, "Dammit!"

The woman smiled, took her staff away, and reached down and offered Brandon a hand up. As she pulled the Crimson Ranger to standing she commented in a mirthfully rebuking tone, "You always fall for the leg sweep."

Brandon blushed slightly, "Only against that damn staff. Thankfully, most of my opponents favor weapons that are more obviously dangerous." Staving off what he knew was a lecture in the making, Brandon continued, "Anyway, we have more important concerns," motioning to the others.

"Everyone, this is Dulcea," he introduced her, "Master Warrior of Phaedos and Guardian of the Great Temple of Power, as well as being the Ninjetti Master to Jason, myself, and Ninjor."

"And these are Ninjor's most recent Ninja acolytes, the Chosen of Zordon: Tommy, the Falcon; Kim, the Crane; Adam, the Frog; Billy, the Wolf; Aisha, the Bear; and Rocky, the Ape," he pointed out each Ranger in turn.

Greetings were exchanged and Dulcea lead then to the nearest teleportal to the Ninjetti Temple. They passed through and came out in the Temple courtyard. Dulcea gave them a few minutes to look around. Billy walked up beside Brandon, "This is where you lived?"

Brandon smiled, "For two years while I was training to control my powers." Seeing the uncomfortable expression on Billy's face he continued, "There's a network of chambers just below the surface that are quite comfortable, with enough built in tech to make even you feel at home." Billy growled a little at Brandon in response to that, and then his eyes widened as he realized what he did. Brandon smirked.

Kim had gone over to the railing and was looking over the jungle. Tommy and Jason came up behind her. She turned and said, "It's beautiful."

Jason smiled at her, "You say that now, but if this works you'll be trekking through that jungle tomorrow to the Temple. I doubt you'll feel the same way then."

Tommy looked at Jason, and the Red Ranger could tell just by the look in his eyes that his friend was in "leader mode," "Is it dangerous?"

Jason sighed, "It's . . . the Temple is well guarded. I'm sorry Tommy, that's all I can tell you." When Tommy's look turned slightly hurt Jason continued, "No, it's not like that. It's just that, beyond well guarded, that's all I can tell you that's useful. The defenses are adaptive, so what I faced won't be what you guys face."

Tommy relaxed and smiled a bit. Kim spoke up, "We understand Jase." Jason looked at her and got a wistful smile on his face. Kim was standing with her back to the railing, framed by the setting sun. She saw Jason's expression and asked, "What?"

"It was right here," Jason responded.

Kim immediately got it, but Tommy asked, "What was right here?"

"Right were Kim is standing, right at this time of day . . . this is where I kissed Brandon for the first time. Well, the first time for his current body."

Kim smiled big and said, "Aw, that's so romantic."

Jason then smirked, turned and pointed, "And right over where Adam is standing is where we . . ."

"Bro!" Tommy exclaimed, turning pink while Kim giggled.

Adam realized he was being pointed at and asked, "What?"

Tommy answered before Jason could, "You don't want to know!" Now Jason and Kim burst out laughing. Adam, realization dawning, shook his head and wandered off.

At this point Brandon sauntered up and asked, "Beloved, are you freaking Tommy out with tales of our sex life?"

Jason didn't even try to look innocent, "Yes."

"Ah, one of the many reasons I love you," He kissed Jason with a smirk. Stepping back he said, "But, there will be time to traumatize Tommy later, we need to get started." Tommy huffed indignantly as the others giggled.

While they had been looking around Dulcea had started a fire. As they approached she asked the Rangers to form a line on the side of the fire pit away from the jungle. Jason and Brandon joined her on the jungle side of the fire.

After moving to a nearby podium and retrieving a double handful of a multi-colored sparkling powder, the Ninjetti Master turned and faced the Rangers from across the fire, "As you already know, within each of us lives an animal spirit waiting to be released, but only a few are able to do so. Unsurprisingly, these few are often the same individuals who are acceptable to the Power. Fewer still are so bound to their Color that they are able to take the next step and quest to the Temple, to touch the Power and become true _**Power**_ Rangers. Brandon believes that you six can take that next step beyond your ninja training, to become the first of a new Ninjetti Order, and to fully reclaim your mantels as Rangers. I trust his judgment in this. Are you ready?"

The six former ninja responded affirmatively, and so Dulcea began the ritual, "Then close your eyes, reach deep inside yourselves and hear the call of your Animal Spirit. It has been quiet and dormant for many years, but has just been waiting for you to seek it again."

Brandon watched as each of his friend's Colors shifted and changed as the Animal spirit within them awoke again. In Kim, Aisha, and Billy's cases there was little change, as their last Ranger roles were with the coins Ninjor had created. Rocky's was just below the surface of the Zeo Crystal's geometry. For Adam and Tommy it was more a process of peeling back layers until their Spirit energy and Color were revealed again.

Although Dulcea did not perceive this process the way Brandon did, she too knew the moment that the Animals had awoken and blew the powder into the fire. The flames leapt up and bathed the Rangers in colored sparks, which settled over each of them in the form of their new Ninjetti fighting garb. Jason looked at Brandon as he saw the colors two of his friends were wearing, and Brandon just smiled and nodded.

The new Ninjetti pulled down their hoods and half masks; although after doing so Adam and Rocky studied their garb more closely. Adam finally looked at everyone and, commenting on his green uniform, said, "Well, I guess I really am Kermit now."

All Rocky said was, "I'm Black?"

Aisha asked, "Brandon?"

"The coins Ninjor created were aligned with the last morphing grid energies he sensed in each of you, however Adam and Rocky's core Colors have always been Green and Black respectively."

Everyone now looked at the two. Adam was the first to speak, "He's right. I never really felt comfortable as a Ranger until I got the green Zeo crystal."

"And you really redeemed Green in the eyes of the world," Tommy said with gratitude. Adam smiled.

Now all eyes went to Rocky. He was quiet for a moment more and then said, "Well, I've always felt like I had more in common with Zack than I ever did Jason or Billy. Adam's right, my other powers always felt . . . off somehow. This finally feels right."

Suddenly Aisha seemed to become very serious. She walked around Rocky looking him over. Finally she said, "Well, replacing all that red and blue in your wardrobe with black is going to cost an arm and a leg but . . ." There was a hint of fire in her eyes as she finished, "I definitely approve."

Everyone laughed as Rocky turned his original Ranger color. Brandon joined in for a few moments before his laughter faded off and he looked into the jungle. His friends were now Ninjetti, but that was only half the challenge . . . tomorrow they faced the full force of the Temple's defenses.


	13. Quests

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 13: Quests**

"_Zedd seems to really dislike you," Trey commented with a grunt as he dispatched yet another Z-Patroller and blocked a blow from a monster made out of hundreds of eyeballs._

"_What makes you say that?" Brandon asked as he sliced through a rapping pumpkin monster while silently cursing Dark Specter's name for giving Zedd and Rita the power to bring that abomination back into existence._

"_I don't know," the eyeball monster screamed as a flash of golden energy blinded all of its eyes at once, "maybe the fact that Zedd withdrew all of his forces from the cities and brought them here the minute you showed up."_

"_Hmmm," Brandon flipped the Phoenix Avenger to blaster mode and vaporized an advancing line of Z-Patrollers. "You think he still blames me for that whole thing with Dreaveus?" the Crimson Ranger dodged the blast from the aforementioned Dark Lord by millimeters._

"_Possibly," the Gold Ranger replied as he used the blade end of his staff to slice the petals off a multi-eyed flower monster._

_Their banter belied the two Rangers true feelings, they were quickly being overwhelmed and they both knew it. Suddenly Brandon heard Zedd yell, "Scorpina, now!" and the blast of energy that the warrior had spent the battle building up landed between them, the explosion sending Brandon and Trey flying._

_Brandon, having a split second to prepare, hand managed to land if not well, at least in a defensible position. Trey had not been so fortunate. He had landed badly and been separated from the Gold Staff. He was still morphed, but now in the clutches of several of Zedd's stronger monsters. Baboo had swept in and grabbed the staff and was presenting it to Rita._

_Zedd laughed and asked, "What will you do now Crimson Ranger? You've lost!"_

"_Not as long as I live Zedd!" Brandon shouted back._

_The villains laughed again as Trey, realizing what Brandon intended yelled, "No!"_

"_Well, I got a few more years," Brandon thought as he began to gather his power. However he was interrupted as Rita screamed, "Zedd!!"_

_Everyone looked up as a wave of pure, undiluted Power washed over Triforia._

* * *

The new Ninjetti rose with the sun and shared a simple meal. Within the hour they were gathered at the edge of the plateau with Brandon, Jason, and Dulcea. The two Rangers gave their friends several small packs of supplies and hugs.

Once her student and his mate stepped back, Dulcea addressed the Tommy and the others, "Once you reach the jungle there will be a clear path to the Temple. Do not deviate from this path, the challenges you will face along it will be difficult, but what's in the jungle away from the path is worse."

"Worse?" Billy asked.

Brandon and Dulcea exchanged a glance and the Phoenix answered, "Not all Animal Spirits are . . . fond of mortals." The six questers exchanged a nervous glance and so Brandon added, "But all the Spirits in the jungle are bound to the Temple and honor the conventions of the Quest."

The new Nijetti seemed to relax and sharing one last look at their friends began the descent into the Neola Valley.

* * *

The warship _Vengeance_ dropped out of hyper-rush just outside the functional boundary of the Sol system's Oort cloud, well beyond the scanning range of even the former Power Chamber. The warship had been in the final stages of construction when the UAE fell and was surprisingly intact when Thrax laid claim to the Onyx system shipyard. After completion of the Darkthrone, Thrax had ordered the ship completed as a gift to his new intended.

Dimitria rose from her command chair and began issuing orders to the Chronotrons, rebuilt due to their higher efficiency in the operation of technology, manning the bridge, "All stop. Prepare the scanner probe for launch." The Chronotron manning the launch controls signaled ready and Dimitria order it to launch.

Thirty minutes later the Chronotron reported that the probe was in position, hidden among the ruins of the Lunar Palace, which would obscure it from any Earth-based sensors. "Excellent," the former cleric purred. Flipping on the communication system she signaled her comrades, "Assault teams, prepare for teleportation." Once Goldar, Vypra, and Cenogog signaled they were ready she cleared them and, as the ship's scanners reported the large groups teleporting towards Earth, she opened a second comm-channel, "Bridge to Shuttle."

"Shuttle here," Gant replied over the channel.

"The assault teams are away, you are cleared for launch."

"Acknowledged Bridge. Probe telemetry link is functioning optimally. Beginning launch sequence."

One of the Chronotrons now reported from its station in its flat, metallic voice, "Shuttle is clear and is entering Oort cloud. Navigational zone is clear. Shuttle is accelerating away."

"Shuttle to _Vengeance_, initiating comm silence."

"Acknowledged Shuttle, may success be yours."

* * *

The new Zeo Rangers teleported into the Command Center to find every warning light flashing and alarm screaming. Alpha was operating several control panels at once.

"Alpha?" Trini asked.

"Aiy, aiy, aiy, Rangers! Sensors have detected large teleport effects in Mariner Bay, Reefside, and Angel Grove!"

Trini braced herself internally, this would be her first real test as Red Ranger. She felt Zack's firm and supportive grip on her shoulder. Turning to her husband she was favored by one of his devil-may-care smiles and the look of love and absolute trust in his eyes. Her confidence bolstered, Trini ordered, "On screens."

Three screens popped up, showing the situations: Vypra with a mix of Batlings and Tallicks in central Mariner Bay; Cenogog and Tallicks in Reefside's town square area; Goldar and Tallicks in downtown Angel Grove.

"There's someone I could have gone without ever seeing again," Zack commented sourly.

"I don't know, I kind of miss kicking Goldie's butt, let's go do it for old times' sake," Trini commented with a grin. Turning back to Alpha she said, "Get the other teams moving. Keep the Ninjas and Wilds on standby." When the automaton nodded, the Zeo Rangers teleported out.

Goldar turned as he sensed the teleportation pulse behind him and couldn't hide his surprise as the old Yellow and Black Rangers materialized out of red and green teleport bursts. "So, it appears there were a few changes while I was away," he snarled. "No matter, you'll still die at the end of my blade."

"More than a few changes Goldie!" Trini replied, taking her place at the head of her team. "But some things never change. It's Morphin' Time!"

"Zeo Ranger 1! Pink!"

"Zeo Ranger 2! Yellow!"

"Zeo Ranger 3! Blue!"

"Zeo Ranger 4! Green!"

"Zeo Ranger 5! Red!"

The Zeo Rangers morphed and Goldar yelled, "Attack!"

* * *

Vypra was enjoying herself, taking pleasure as her Batlings and the Tallicks tore through the hated city of Mariner Bay and its citizens. However, she growled in annoyance as a familiar yellow vehicle screeched to a stop . . . even though this was part of the plan.

"Stop right there Vypra!" Carter yelled as he leapt from the Rescue Rover.

"Oh Red Ranger, you haven't changed at all. Same pathetic belief that I somehow have any respect for your so-called authority," Vypra taunted.

"And you're still dumb enough to think you can actually beat us," Joel countered.

"Enough of this pointless banter! Tallicks! Batlings! Attack!"

"Ready?!" Carter yelled.

Five voices responded, "Ready!" and the Lightspeed Rangers morphed with their calls of "Lightspeed Rescue!" and "Titanium Power!"

The second they finished morphing Vypra and her minions were on them and the battle was joined.

* * *

Cenogog spun as a mocking voice commented, "So, this is Thrax's Mesagog knock-off? So not impressed." The clone's reptilian memory, inherited from Mesogog but somewhat incomplete, contained enough to inform him that it was the Red Ranger who had spoken.

The one he thought was White, but was wearing a black shirt commented, "I don't know. He does kind of look like my dad before he's had his coffee in the morning."

"I am never drinking coffee again," the one in blue stated.

"Yeah, because all those energy drinks you suck down are so healthy," the lone female countered.

"Enough!" Cenogog hissed. "You think to face me? Your final battle with Mesogog destroyed your powers, foolish mammals."

"Not a problem," the Red Ranger announced, bringing up his left wrist, revealing a silver bracelet set with a red gem. In a flash of light it became a morpher. The other three youths did the same. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

"DinoThunder, Power Up! Ha!"

"Tyrano!"

"Tricera!"

"Ptera!"

"Drago!"

Cenogog hissed again and commanded the Tallicks, "Attack!"

* * *

The journey through the Neola Jungle had been physically arduous, but so far there had been no sign of any of the dangers Brandon and Jason had warned them about. Tommy lead the way as they entered a clearing, a clearing littered with massive bones.

Tommy immediately approached a nearby and fairly complete-looking skeleton as Rocky asked, "What are they?"

"I believe the more accurate question would be what were they," Billy commented.

"The skeletal structure is similar to terrestrial cerotopsids," Tommy analyzed. "However, the mixture of sharp teeth near the front of the jaw with molars at the back would imply an omnivorous diet. The joints are also structured more like a predatory rather than prey animal."

"You know, I still can't believe there are days I want Trini around to translate for my husband rather than Billy," Kim mused aloud.

"I understood it," Aisha said with a giggle.

"So says the veterinarian," Adam commented while looking into the eye sockets of another skeleton. Turning back to the others he said, "But basically what you're saying is welcome to Jurassic Park?"

"Very funny A . . . Adam look out!" Aisha yelled. Adam dived out of the way as the skull he had just been looking at snapped at him.

Shaking dirt, leaves, and twigs from itself as it rose, the complete and now animated skeleton seemed to roar, although no sound came from it, and then charged.

"Scatter!" Tommy commanded as the creature ran straight across the clearing. Adam found himself having to dive again, this time crawling between the things legs as it ran, and then rolling to avoid being crushed by the tail.

The creature was headed straight for Aisha, so Rocky grabbed a bone and attempted to attack it from the side, however it whipped its head around and knocked Rocky into a pile of leaves and smaller bones. "Rocky!" Aisha yelled as she ran to her husband's side.

The creature now oriented on Kim. She turned to run and realized that she was penned in by other, thankfully unmoving, skeletons and large trees. Turning back to the creature bearing down on her a look of determination crossed her face as Tommy yelled her name. Kim sprinted directly at the creature, leapt from just outside its bite range and landed for a split second on its snout, right between the nasal horn and its eye sockets. She immediately sprung into another leap, using the extra momentum as the creature lifted its head to shake her off to execute a spinning flip over the creature, landing in a crouch next to its left hind leg, she then rolled away. As she regained her feet she yelled, "Tommy, something behind its head is glowing!"

Tommy looked at Billy, "Power source?"

"Too coincidental, and you know how I feel about coincidence," Billy replied.

Tommy smiled and started formulating a plan as Aisha yelled, "Tommy, first cervical vertebrae!" having spotted the glowing bone from her vantage point covering Rocky, who was quickly collecting his wits.

Adam flipped over and asked Tommy, "Ever ridden a mechanical bull?"

"Why do I have to do it?" Tommy asked even though he was already running at the creature.

"Hey, you're the one with the paleontology degree," Adam responded as Tommy swept up a bone and hurled it at the creatures head, getting its attention. The creature promptly charged Tommy who ran for the nearest tree, ran a few feet up its trunk, and then launched himself onto the creature's back.

Landing he fought to stay on as it tried to buck him off. Rocky, now on his feet, yelled, "WooHoo! Ride 'em cowboy!"

Tommy found his balance and spotted the glowing vertebrae. He reached down, gripped it, and yanked. The bone came away easily in his hands and the creature stopped moving. Tommy held up the bone triumphantly for a brief second . . . until the head fell off, followed by the rest of the skeleton collapsing, taking Tommy to the ground with it.

The others gathered around Tommy as Billy and Adam pulled him to his feet. Tommy was still clutching the bone and was looking at it intently. "No," Kim said with authority.

"What?" Tommy asked.

"Anton has an entire museum full of bones at home you can play with. Besides, there's probably a rule against taking stuff," Kim responded, hands on her hips. The others snickered.

"Okay," Tommy said, looking disappointed. "We should get moving anyway."

"Yeah," Rocky agreed. "I don't want to be here in case he or any of his friends decide to pull themselves together."

The Nijetti laughed lightly, got their bearings, and started back on the trail to the Temple.


	14. Quests Part II

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 14: Quests Part II**

_Karone was pacing around her room. It was a lovely suite, well appointed and comfortable. However, as the days passed it became to feel more and more like a prison. She had been told repeatedly by the Eltaran doctors that the isolation and the constant tests were a precaution to make sure that there were no lingering effects from the years under the Power of Darkness for her and the others freed by Zordon's energy. However, after her most recent meeting with the new Chancellor, Gant, she was beginning to feel that they were all being held until the Eltarans could come up with a legitimate reason to really imprison them._

_The former Princess of Evil was pulled from her thoughts by the chime of the announcer. She was actually fairly shocked by the sound . . . the doctors and Gant had a tendency to just barge in. She took a moment to collect herself and then said, "Enter."_

_The door slid aside to reveal a pale human male with amber eyes and dark hair with a reddish tint . . . which marked him as being Terran, no other human species, save the now extinct Pheadosians, exhibited red tones in their hair. He wore a black uniform with a dark red shirt. Karone gasped slightly and took a step back when she saw the emblem on the jacket's left breast . . . the mark of the Phoenix._

_He stepped into the room with a gentle smile and said, "Relax, I mean you no harm. I assume you know who I am?"_

_Karone gathered herself, "The Crimson Ranger. Champion of the Phoenix."_

_He nodded. "So, how are you enjoying Eltaran hospitality?" His voice dripped with sarcasm as he said the final word._

"_Chillier than I had heard. But then, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised . . . given the circumstances."_

_There was an edge to the Crimson Ranger's voice, "That's no excuse. Come on, it's past time we got you home."_

"_What? How? The Council . . ."_

"_Really doesn't have a choice in the matter. Inquiris threatened to cut off diplomatic relations in order to get Devania back. Rita's still a sorceress, so they weren't really able to hold her, Alveth, Serena, and the others."_

"_Won't the Eltarans go after them."_

"_Not unless they want to piss me off they won't," the Crimson Ranger responded with a smile._

"_And me?" Karone asked, still confused._

"_KO-35's government informed the Council this morning that they could hold back Andros and his team one more day . . . after that anything that happened was on the Council's heads."_

_Karone couldn't help but smile at that. After everything she had put them through, that Andros and his friends would do that amazed her, prompting her to mentally correct herself to identify them as her brother and her friends._

"_But before I send you home, I do need to ask you a question," the Crimson Ranger intruded on her thoughts._

"_Anything."_

"_I need to know what happened to Dark Specter, from an eyewitness."_

_Karone related the story of Darkhonda's betrayal and Dark Specter's destruction. The Phoenix Champion's expression became dark for a moment, and then he smiled, "Thank you." Raising his left wrist Karone noticed he was wearing the same style bracelet communicator that the Space Rangers had their morphers programmed to disguise themselves as, and that they had given to her. "Alpha, you ready?"_

_A mechanical voice with a slightly deeper tone than the Alpha Karone was used to responded, "Locked on."_

"_Teleport."_

_Karone smiled as the familiar tingle of Ranger grid-teleporation moved across her skin. Although she was a bit surprised as her vision filled with blue sparkles._

* * *

"My Lady," the Chronitron at the sensor console called for Dimitria's attention in its mechanical monotone.

"What is it?" she replied, slipping the dagger she had been playing with back into its boot-sheathe.

"The sensor pod is detecting ten more morphing signatures on Earth. Two each share similar harmonics. The remaining six show a third harmonic variation."

Rising from her command chair she commanded, "On screen."

A topographical map of Earth appeared on the screen and then zoomed in on what Dimitria remembered Terrans called the North American continent. The two sets of two signatures were together and clearly marked on the map. The third set kept shifting around a roughly one hundred square mile area. "Why is the fix on the third signal unclear?" she demanded.

"There is a layered series of technological and mystical barriers scrambling the signal," the Chronotron responded. "This is the best the remote sensor can localize it. We are at too great a distance to use the ship's main sensor array to enhance the resolution."

Dimitria growled in frustration for a moment, and then smiled. "It really doesn't matter where they are. In fact," she now purred as her idea coalesced, "it has always been rather frustrating, this whole sending the monsters to the Rangers. Why don't we make the Rangers go to the monsters?" She addressed the Chronitron's again, "How many monster-class Tallicks are we carrying?"

"Three Mistress," the Chronitron at Ops responded.

"Perfect." Striding forward she ordered, "Expand map." As the image expanded to show a flat image of Earth's land masses Dimitria remembered a time that brat Justin had been prattling on about his geography homework. "Teleport a monster here and here," she commanded, pointing out the locations of two of Earth's larger cities.

* * *

Justin and TJ were monitoring the situations in Mariner Bay, Angel Grove, and Reefside with Eric and Wes via a feed from the Command Center in the Silver Guardians operations center in Silver Hills. Suddenly, their morphers started beeping frantically. The four exchanged a glance and then TJ answered, "TJ here, go ahead."

"Aiy, aiy, aiy!" Alpha's voice issued from the device. "There is a monster type Tallick in Berlin!"

Wes joined the conversation via his morpher, "Like the one Lightspeed fought in New York?"

"Affirmative."

"Then prep the teleport coordinates Alpha," TJ responded, "we're on our way."

The four Rangers exchanged a glance, and then . . .

"Shift into Turbo! Red Lightning Turbo Power!"

"Mountain Blaster Turbo Power!"

"Time for Timeforce!"

"Quantum Power!"

* * *

Cam had been monitoring the satellite feeds when he suddenly said, "Oh crap."

The other Ninja Storm Rangers gathered behind him and Shane asked, "What is it?"

But Cam didn't respond to Shane, instead he contacted the Command Center, "Ninja Ops to Command Center, are you reading a second monster in Sydney?"

"Affirmative Ninja Ops."

Cam and Shane exchanged a glance, "This one's ours."

Cam rose and he and the others formed on Shane, who asked, "Ready?"

His teammates responded, "Ready!" And then . . .

"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!"

"Thunder Storm, Ranger Form!"

"Samurai Storm, Ranger Form!"

"**Ha!"**

* * *

For the last several minutes the ground along the trail had become rockier. As the Rangers followed the path around several large trees they entered an impressive clearing at the base of the Monolith. The forest and two tall cliff faces, with a waterfall cascading down one of them defined the clearing and served to channel the eye to the massive stone doors set into the wall of the Monolith.

"It's amazing," Aisha commented as she and the other looked around.

"There is likely some final layer of defense to face," Billy observed.

Tommy nodded at Billy, and then glancing at the others said, "Okay, let's go. Nice and easy."

The new Ninjetti slowly approached the doors. As they reached the set of steps leading up from the ground to the doors, Tommy signaled the others to stop and proceeded alone. He reached the doors and noted the four inhuman warriors carved into the massive stones. He cautiously reached out to touch one. When nothing happened, he turned to the others and shrugged. However, no sooner had he made eye contact with Kim he heard the sound of metal sliding over stone and saw Kim's eyes widen. She cried warning, "Tommy!"

Tommy spun and then back just in time to evade a double slash from the now animate, armored, and armed carving as it stepped away from the doors. Another slash forced Tommy to back flip to the ground level. As the other Rangers gathered around him he looked up and saw the other three carvings become three dimensional warriors and join the first.

"They look tough," Rocky said.

"What's the plan Tommy?" Adam asked.

Tommy paused and then yelled, "Ninjetti! White Falcon!"

The others quickly followed suit: "Pink Crane!"

"Blue Wolf!"

"Black Ape!"

"Green Frog!"

"Yellow Bear!"

* * *

"Report," Dimitria commanded.

"Four Rangers have engaged Monster 01. Six have engaged Monster 02," the Chronitron responded.

Dimitria smiled coldly, "Teleport Monster 03."

* * *

Captain Mitchell slumped as the news came in, "Rio. They've sent another one to Rio. Everyone's in play. God help us."

There was a silence broken by Cole speaking into his communicator, "Alpha, teleport us to the site of the latest monster."

William spun and yelled, "Stop!" You don't have any powers! How do you expect to fight that thing?"

The expressions on the six Wild Force Rangers faces, and the edge in Zen Aku's yellow eyes spoke more than words. Pure, hard determination. And something else, something that William could only describe as faith. He had seen it in his team's eyes before that last fight with the demons . . . the unwavering belief that they were Rangers, and therefore they would find a way to win.

William nodded and Cole spoke into the communicator again, "Teleport."

* * *

High above Turtle Cove, a force as old as life on Earth moved through the jungle of the Animarium. It swirled around the unconscious form of Princess Shayla before coalescing in the form of a young boy. With a voice that betrayed his age and power, Animus spoke, "Awaken Shayla, the powers of Animaria are needed again."

Shayla awoke and her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the primal spirit's human avatar, "Animus, have the Orgs returned?"

"No Princess, but our Warriors are needed again. Stir the Wild Zords!"

Nodding, Shayla rose, centered herself, and sung the Song of Evocation in the ancient tongue of Animaria. Her song was answered by a series of roars, cries, and a howl. Seconds later six colored orbs streaked into the air from various points on the Animarium.

* * *

Cole went flying into a parked car, the windshield shattering as he smashed into it. Alyssa ran to his side as Merrick and Zen Aku snarled and attacked the monster-class Tallick with Danny as Taylor and Max attempted to clear the area of civilians, and get wounded Brazilian police and military officers to cover.

Cole was dislodging himself from the car as Alyssa ran up, "We can't keep this up. Without our powers we can't fight this thing. Even Zen Aku is outmatched."

"We can't just . . .," Cole paused, and then asked, "Do you hear that?"

"What?" Alyssa asked and then looked to the sky as Cole was where she spotted six colored streaks: red, yellow, blue, black, pink-tinged white, and silver. Realization dawned and she almost squealed, "Our crystals?!"

Hearing Alyssa, the other Wild Force Rangers looked to the sky, just in time to catch their animal crystals. Once contact was made, each Wild Zord reached out and touched the heart of their Ranger, and then the crystals transformed to Growl Phones in flashes of light.

Cole looked at the monster with a feral smile and yelled, "Wild Force ready! Wild Access!"

* * *

Aboard the _Vengence_ a Chronitron called for Dimitria's attention, "My Lady, another set of six morphing signatures just appeared at the location of Monster 03."

"What?!" Dimitria screeched as she rose from her chair. She checked the readouts herself as a dark expression crossed her face. "Very well. Priority command signal to the sensor

* * *

probe. Fire the Statolasers!"

In Berlin Eric, Wes, TJ, and Justin watched the monster grow for a split second before Eric commented, "Well, we're screwed."

* * *

As the same thing happened in Sydney, Dustin turned to Cam, "Dude, please tell me you've finished rebuilding our Zords."

"I would love to Dustin," Cam responded, "but I don't want the last thing I say to you to be a lie."

* * *

"Call the Zords!" Cole yelled.

"Cole, wait," Taylor interrupted. "One of these things trashed the Super Train Megazord. The Wild Mega and the Predazord may not be enough."

Cole nodded, "Right, then we call all of them. Taylor, you and Danny take the Wild Mega. Max and Alyssa, you have the Kongazord. I'll take Isis. Zen Aku, you . . ."

"Merrick can fight the Predazord on his own, I will assist civilians," Zen Aku responded."

"Right." The others pulled out their crystal daggers, Merrick the Lunar Cue, and Cole the Falcon Summoner and as one they called, "Wild Zords, descend!"

In response a glowing rainbow flowed from the sky and the air was filled with the calls of the Zords as they responded. Within seconds the four Wild Force Megazords faced off against the monster Tallick.

* * *

In Angel Grove Goldar backed away from the advancing Zeo Rangers, the shattered remains of his Tallick contingent littering the ground. He snarled in challenge.

"Give it up Goldar, you're on your own. Cenagog and Vypra's forces have also been defeated," Trini informed him.

"That may be Red Ranger," Goldar spat, "but how will you deal with the monsters tearing apart your cities? Even with all the Zords on this planet, you can't hope to defeat the monster-class Tallicks."

Trini experienced a moment of doubt. Goldar might be right. They had limited Zord resources and, while they were holding their own and likely to win, even all the Megazords the Wild Force Rangers had brought to bear were taking a severe beating. Suddenly Trini was provided with her answer as light and fire exploded in the air above the city in the form of the Phoenix symbol. As it cleared eight colored streaks shot across the sky."

"Go on Goldar, I think you were gloating prematurely, as usual," Zack taunted.

* * *

The Ninja Storm Rangers used every trick in their arsenal to try stay ahead of the monster Tallick and keep civilians safe, as well as one of their own. Dustin had tried super growth and been knocked unconscious by the monster.

They were on the verge of losing hope when Tori spotted six colored streaks land on the roof of the nearby Opera house. Six Rangers, all wearing armor that matched Jason's in design, stood in a line. The Blue Ranger yelled at the monster, "Hey! My wife was born here!"

"Uh oh," the Yellow Ranger announced, "You pissed off Billy. Sucks to be you."

"Let's do it guys," the White Ranger commanded. "Ninjetti Falcon Zord, Soar!"

"Ninjetti Crane Zord, Take wing!"

"Ninjetti Wolf Zord, Howl!"

"Ninjetti Ape Zord, Swing in!"

"Ninjetti Frog Zord, Hop to it!"

"Ninjetti Bear Zord, Roar!"

The air above Sydney twisted, shifted, and then there were the six Ninjetti Zords. Unlike their predecessor Ninja Zords, these looked far more organic, almost alive while still being gleaning metal. The Rangers leapt to their Zords. Almost immediately the Falcon and Crane swooped in and slashed with their talons . . . and succeeded in gouging the Tallick. The Bear did the same as it reared up on its hind legs and swiped its forepaw claws across the Tallick's chest. The Bear cleared out as the Frog wrapped its tongue around one of the monster's legs and the Wolf sunk its teeth into the other. The Ape then took the Tallick to the ground with a flying tackle.

Over their comm-system Tommy called, "Okay guys, let's bring 'em together."

All six Rangers commanded, "Ninjetti Megazord Power!"

While the Ninjetti Zords fit together in the same pattern as their Ninja Zord predecessors, the connections were smoother, more interlocking, leaving the Ninjetti Megazord more streamlined, more with the appearance of a giant armored, winged warrior.

"Feels like coming home," Tommy commented as he smiled under his new helmet. "Time to break the monster."

* * *

In Berlin Brandon and Jason's Pegasus Megazord had made quick work of that monster. The one in Sydney never really stood a chance after the Rangers formed the Ninjetti Megazord. The Wild Force Megas took some heavy damage, but in the end they were victorious. With their ground troops defeated Goldar, Vypra, and Cenagog retreated.

On Earth, the Rangers celebrated. Aboard the _Vengence_ Thrax's generals awaited the last of their number in the launch bay, waiting to find out whether their mission was the failure the Rangers believed it to be, or the success they had launched the various diversionary attacks in order to achieve.

Gant's shuttle cleared the atmosphere barrier field and settled onto the deck. With a hiss of gas as the pressures equalized the boarding ramp descended and Gant exited the shuttle. Dimitria stepped forward and asked, "Well? Was your mission a success?"

Gant smiled coldly and gestured to the shuttle and the Chronitrons offloading a large suspension chamber on an anti-grav skid. Floating in a chamber was a massive hunk, more massive than Goldar, of dark stone. However, from the myriad cracks in the stone's surface a red glow issued. "Behold," Gant announced, "the Heart of Dark Specter."


	15. Heart of Darkness

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 15: Heart of Darkness**

"I don't like it," Tommy stated.

"I think it looks good on you," Kim replied, referencing the new Ranger uniforms that Jason had given them. The uniforms matched Jason's; black pants and jackets of a leather-like material accented by stripes of their Ranger Color worn over a color-coded, high collared shirt. Each jacket also featured Zordon's glyph backed by a circle of the owner's Color on the left breast and a stylized representation of their Ninjetti Spirit on the back.

"I don't think that's what he meant Kim," Trini commented from her seat on the other side of the shuttle. She was also wearing the new uniform of the Zeo Rangers. Made from the same black material, their jackets closed completely with a Color-coded, gold-trimmed panel, clasped at the upper corner with their Zeo crystal symbol. The sleeves also featured colored stripes and their individual symbols were reproduced on the right thigh and the back of the jacket.

Zack nodded his head and added, "Yeah, there was something way too easy about those attacks."

"Easy?" Kim asked. "Sydney, Rio, and Berlin took massive damage and huge causalities and half the Wildzords were nearly killed."

Tommy took Kim's hand, "That's not what we met hon. It's just that . . . it looks like this was another bait-and-switch attack."

Jason entered from the cockpit and said, "And adding more evidence to that theory," as he tossed a data pad to Trini. The current Red Zeo Ranger caught it and began scrolling through the information.

"Crap," she swore.

"Exactly," Jason responded as Trini passed the pad to Tommy. Jason filled in for Kim and Zack, "During the attack NASADA was recalibrating one of their deep space monitoring satellites, so it was focused on near-Earth space for a few minutes, otherwise they never would have caught it."

"What?" Kim asked. Tommy turned the pad so she and Zack could see. It was a grainy image of a dark spot against the white background of the moon. Both looked confused until Tommy hit the button that brought up the enhanced view . . . which clearly showed a shuttle craft.

"We've confirmed that as a war-era United Alliance of Evil design," Jason explained.

"Crap," Kim and Zack replied as one.

* * *

A few hours later the shuttle dropped out of hyper-rush in a red giant star system located between most of the major good-aligned races dominions. It had one barely-habitable world that possessed few natural resources other than a several hundred thousand miles of conifer forests in the single band around the equator where the temperature didn't stay below freezing ninety percent of the year. Its largest bodies of water were roughly the size of Earth's Lake Michigan, and those were in the tundra and arctic zones, so frozen most of the time. Even in the planet's version of summer most races found the temperatures too cold to tolerate for more than a few minutes even with arctic survival gear. Additionally, nearly three quarters of the identified plant life carried some kind of poison or contact allergen. In short, Garris was a planet nobody wanted . . . therefore it made the perfect site for the headquarters of the Alliance.

One of the pilots entered the passenger compartment. Like all Eltarans he was tall, of moderate build, pale of complexion, and completely hairless. His eyes, while generally structured like a human's, were larger and the irises were iridescent, purple in this case. While he wore a standard Eltaran military flight suit, he bore what Brandon had mentioned was a common affectation with both Eltaran genders, what Terrans would call eyeshadow, this one wearing a vivid red. At first Kim had thought that it was the color than made her think that this was one of the Eltaran Rangers, but then she realized that on some level she just knew that he was. She looked at Tommy, they made eye contact and he nodded with a smile, indicating he sensed it too. The pilot cleared his throat and said, "Rangers, we will be landing on Garris shortly, please begin preparations for atmospheric entry." Jason nodded and the pilot returned to the cockpit.

As they were activating their seats' inertial restraints, Zack commented, "This is going to take some getting used to." When everyone looked at him, he continued, "The uniforms, being addressed as Ranger like it's a rank or something."

"It takes a bit," Jason replied. "And you haven't even had to deal with being considered Zordon's sons and daughters yet."

"How does that work?" Trini asked.

Jason rolled his eyes, "There have been times I've been treated more like royalty than Trey . . . when he was standing right there with us."

"Oh Power," Tommy groaned.

Kim giggled for a moment, and the sobered, "What about Brandon?"

Jason sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "Depends. Some people treat him like a Ranger, others like he's some kind of god. But with the exception of other Rangers, it's obvious that they're also vaguely afraid of him."

"Why?" Kim asked in an indignant tone.

"Think about it Kim," Trini prompted. "Think about the amount of power Brandon has. You've seen it first hand when he basically recreated the the Dinothunder powers."

Kim now sighed, "I know, but it's not like he's actually going to destroy a solar system."

"No," Jason added in a quiet voice, "but one of his predecessors did."

* * *

_Buried deep within the temple plateau was the Phaedosian Hall of Knowledge. Protected by the miles of rock surrounding it and the most advanced of the long-gone race's technology, it was a nearly complete accounting of life in the galaxy, as well as manifestations of the Power up to the Phaedosians' departure from the Universe. Whenever he wasn't training with Dulcea Brandon would spend hours studying everything he was able. It was also where Dulcea finally found Brandon one day when he was late for a training session._

_The Master Warrior found her student sitting on the floor, staring blankly at the wall of one of the historiopticons. She said his name several times. When she got no response she knelt down beside him and was then able to see the signs that he had been crying. She reached out and touched him and softly said his name. Finally her young student's eyes cleared and he looked at her and he asked, "Destruction and death. Destruction and death. Is that all I am now?"_

_"Brandon, what do you mean?" Dulcea asked with concern._

_"I found the records on Kaisen," Brandon responded._

_"Kaisen?" Dulcea asked. "I'm sorry Brandon, but the ancient histories were never my strong suit."_

_Brandon shuddered and then spoke in a raspy voice, "He was Phaedosian. A Ninjetti. And the first Warrior of the Phoenix in recorded history."_

_"Ah, yes," Dulcea responded, now recognizing the name, her eyes downcast. She then looked up and looked deeply into Brandon's eyes, "He did what the Phoenix guided him to do, what was necessary."_

_Brandon pulled away with anger, "He destroyed an entire solar system! He caused the sun to go nova! He wiped out an entire civilization! All with the power of the Phoenix!!"_

_Crimson fire was dancing in Brandon's eyes, and so Dulcea, knowing the need to defuse the situation quickly as Brandon's control was still unstable when he was upset, became authoritative, "Calm yourself!" When Brandon stopped, took a deep breath, and regained his control, she continued, "That's not the whole story as I remember it." She rose and crossed to the console, refreshed her memory, and then turned to Brandon, "Yes, Kaisen destroyed the Yatalli system, but only after spending years trying to get them to restrain themselves, to show some morality regarding the Power, which they treated as some kind of toy, building more and more ways to tap into it. The Yatalli's creations were responsible for the first dark Rangers and the Ranger War necessary to defeat them, and still they just kept creating grids, claiming responsibility was with the user, not their creations. They had to be stopped."_

_"But genocide?" Brandon challenged._

_Dulcea shook her head, "Not genocide." Before Brandon could respond she continued, "You didn't view the whole record. The Yatalli's entire culture wasn't corrupt, only their leaders and scientists. A large segment of their population was good and just. However the leaders killed Kaisen and, like you, he was reborn as the Phoenix Champion. And yes, he used that power, and sacrificed himself to destroy the Yattalli system, but before that he used the Power and plant and animal life from the Yatalli homeworld to terraform a once lifeless world. He then transplanted those good and just people to that world . . . a world that would cause a specific genetic mutation in its new inhabitants, who would one day be called Triforians."_

_Brandon just gaped at his teacher as she continued, "And while he destroyed most of the Yatalli's creations, there were a few he saved, hidden away until such a time as true Rangers could make proper use of them. Most notably the Zeo Crystal, and the vehicles now called Lighting Cruiser and Storm Blaster."_

_Dulcea crossed back to Brandon and placed her hands on his shoulders, "So you see, my Student, while the fires of the Phoenix can destroy, they can also create and transform. In your heart you know which path the Phoenix has laid out for you." Brandon looked up into Dulcea's eyes and she could see the relief there. With a bit of a smirk she added, "And now you are about two hours late for your training session . . . you'll have to make that up somehow."_

_Brandon groaned._

* * *

The shuttle landed in one of the upper level bays that was a part of the massive Alliance dome that represented the only artificial structure on Garris. The Rangers were conducted quickly through security accompanied by their pilots, who by now all four Earth-based Rangers were convinced were part of the Eltaran team, although Jason had been tight-lipped on the subject. As they passed through the final security checkpoint they found Brandon waiting for them. His demeanor was serious and he kept his greeting brief and formal, giving even Jason only a chaste kiss, which the Red Ranger did not seem surprised by.

Brandon then moved on to the two pilots and spoke with them in low tones, too low for anyone lacking Power-enhanced senses to overhear, but that the Rangers were able to make out perfectly, "Oleda found the evidence we needed. Once you're clear of the system teleport. Don't mess around, go in morphed. Hit them hard and fast. Oh, and destroy that damn pseudo-grid of theirs while you're at it." The two Eltarans nodded and began making the return trip to the shuttle as Brandon rejoined his friends.

"Problem?" Tommy asked.

"Not really, just finally found a valid reason to take out those damn Council Guardsmen. The Eltaran Pink was able to find proof they're still working for Gant." Brandon answered as Jason smiled grimly.

"Will they need back-up?" Trini asked.

Brandon motioned for them all to follow him, and then responded, "No. Their armor may look like Ranger tech, but it's only a copy. They're not actually connected to the Morphing Grid."

"Hired soldiers with Ranger armor and weapons, that's kind of frightening," Zack observed.

"Yeah, and to make matters worse, that idiot Fowler wants to copy the Guardsman tech for SPD." He caught Tommy and Jason about to go off out of the corner of his eye and held up a hand, "I'm on it, don't worry. Right now we all have to get through a briefing of the defense forces of the Allied Worlds. Thankfully, given the circumstances, the majority of worlds sent Rangers instead of bureaucrats." Everyone visibly relaxed, until Brandon added, "That being said, don't accept any drinks from Trey."

"Why not," Kim asked.

Brandon's expression as he answered, "It's just . . . really in your best interest," caused Jason to groan and rub his temples and Zack to chuckle.

* * *

Thrax's generals; Gant, Goldar, Vypra, and Cenogog followed his Intended, Dimitria, and the Tallicks pushing the anti-grav sled carrying the suspension chamber which held the disembodied heart of Dark Specter into the bowels of the Darkthrone. Entering a vast chamber near the massive station's core, Goldar's eyes narrowed, his body tensed and he growled.

At the sound Thrax, his helmet off, turned from his inspection of the almost organic-looking, silvery machinery which filled much of the chamber. His expression was almost warm as he said, "Relax Goldar, this technology is merely based on Dreaveus' machine, but serves a function much more in line with our goals."

The Zedd Lord's attention then turned to the suspension chamber. He stroked an armored hand almost lovingly over the transtanium container, "And this . . . this more than makes up for your failure to terminate Oliver, Gant."

"Thank you, my Lord," the former Chancellor accepted the closest thing to praise he knew he would receive.

Motioning to several nearby Chronitrons, which moved to the chamber at his command, Thrax then asked, "And, what of the raids on Earth?"

Dimitria scowled, "The basic attacks went exactly as anticipated. The Terrans have adapted to the Tallicks."

"Hmmm, I was hoping that would take longer, but we were prepared for this. Go on," Thrax commented as he watched the Chronitrons place the suspension chamber in the middle of the machinery and began hooking cables and wires to it.

"The Phoenix has been busy. The attacks were responded to by a new team of Zeo Rangers, minus the Gold Ranger. Additionally there were three full Ranger teams, including a sixth, Oliver's former students, and two partial teams of two Rangers each."

Thrax turned to his Intended, "I sense there's something else."

The venom in Dimitria's voice could have melted the deck plating, "The six who studied under Ninjor; Oliver, his mate, and their team have become Ninjetti."

Thrax's eyes hardened for a moment, but then, as the machinery behind him began to hum with life, he gave them all a cold, feral smile and turning back said, "Annoying, but ultimately futile. With this, we will undo Zordon's ridiculous little sacrifice. With this, this galaxy will finally and for all time belong to the Darkness. And, after that, we will lay claim to the Universe itself.


	16. Undercover

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

* * *

**Chapter 16: Undercover**

Jason found Brandon in the simulator, taking his frustrations out on a sampling of monsters from the Rita and Zedd days. Jason leaned back against the simulator wall and watched his mate work his way through the hard-light creatures, enjoying the sight of the sheen of sweat on Brandon's bare chest. Jason's enjoyment was interrupted, however, when his rational mind broke through the growing haze of hormones and he realized just how long and hard Brandon would had to have been at it for him to be sweating the way he was. A regular Ranger's physiology was about five times more efficient than that of a civilian. A Ninjetti Ranger's was ten times better. Brandon's was ten times beyond a Ninjetti.

Brandon finished off the last monster, not even seeming to notice Jason's presence, and said, "Computer, reset simulation. Raise difficulty to level . . ."

"Computer, cancel last command," Jason cut Brandon off loudly.

Now Brandon noticed Jason, and the Red Ranger could see his love was panting. He could also see that his eyes were glowing crimson. "Jason, what the hell?" Brandon demanded.

Jason cocked an eyebrow, "What the hell? I should be asking you why you're working so hard to push yourself to exhaustion."

"I'm not. I just wanted a decent workout for once."

Jason crossed his arms, "Your eyes are glowing."

Brandon's eyes widened and then he glanced at the ceiling, "Computer, mirror." A mirror materialized on the wall and Brandon walked up to it and saw Jason was right. He placed his hands against the wall, closed his eyes, and took several deep breaths. When he opened his eyes they were again their normal amber color.

Jason walked up and hugged Brandon from behind. "I'm all sweaty," Brandon said in a lightly warning tone of voice.

"Mmm, I know," Jason purred into Brandon's neck.

Brandon laughed lightly and said, "Oh yeah. Forgot who I was dealing with for a moment."

Jason was pleased to feel some of the tension drop out of Brandon's shoulders, but still felt the need to become serious again for a moment and asked, "So, would you like to tell me what's eating at you?"

Brandon sighed, "I know he's plotting something. Something big. I can feel it."

Brandon started to tense up again, so Jason started massaging his shoulders, "I agree, but we're working on figuring out what it is. You've got the computers here and on Earth analyzing every scrap of data collected on near-Earth space during the attacks, as well as every team in the galaxy collecting information."

"I know, I just hate waiting."

* * *

"You could have gone on the Onyx mission yourself."

Brandon blushed, "Um, no, that would have been a bad idea." Before Jason could ask, Brandon continued, "Although, without Trey along, I might actually succeed."

Now Jason asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean Trey's about as good at undercover work as Andros," Brandon replied and Jason winced. Brandon continued with the story, "It was during the War. We were following a lead on Zordon's location and had snuck onto Tortugon under the guise of a couple of Karovan smugglers."

"Karovans?"

"Yeah, it was easiest. Some temporary dermal dying got rid of Trey's facial markings and we bleached two stripes into his hair. For me it was a dye-job to Andros' dominant color with black streaks." As Jason tried to picture that, Brandon continued, "Anyway, at this point most of the pirate clans were still loyal to Divatox; still believing she had just allied herself with the UAE, rather than being one of Dark Specter's generals, so were our best source of information. Anyway, we were in this bar in the seedier part of the capitol city and this gun-runner starts bad mouthing the Gold Ranger." Brandon could feel Jason wince as he finished the story, "Trey, being Trey, decides he must defend his honor . . . totally ignoring the fact that we were undercover as people who should really not like Rangers . . . and ends up starting a bar fight, for which we get arrested."

Jason started laughing as Brandon concluded, "Thank the Power that the jail's teleport shields were pretty basic and I was able to teleport us out of there once they left us alone in the cell."

Jason turned Brandon around in his arms and kissed him. "You know," he said as he pulled away, "the Onyx team isn't due to report in for a few hours, and the analysis will take that long as well."

"Yeah . . ." Brandon replied, getting an inkling of where Jason was going.

"If you need a distraction, I'm sure I could supply one."

"This is true," Brandon responded as he initiated a kiss.

* * *

"Fullt hus," Brada, the Ta'Toon bounty hunter announced as it laid down the high scoring hand on the table in the Fluid Abyss saloon on Onyx. Its announcement was accompanied by a hiss of gas from the respirator helmet that allowed the nitrogen breather to function in Onyx's oxygen atmosphere, as well as concealed its face completely.

The squid-like Sucant, Melose threw down his hand in disgust as the remaining three players in the card game, all of whom had folded after the first draw, chuckled. In a gurgling voice he asked, "How is it you keep winning so easily?"

"Du har en forteller," Brada responded off-handedly.

Melose color-shifted to bright red, his anger rising, "A tell? I do not have a tell! And, even if I did, how do you explain beating these beings hand after hand?" he demanded, gesturing to the others at the table.

"Amatorer."

"Amateurs?!" Melose cried indignantly. Turing to the table's other occupants, he demanded, "Gentlebeings, are you going to stand for such an insult?"

The three exchanged a glance and started to stand. However, they stopped dead as Brada looked up from where it was piling up the credits it had won. Despite the fact that no expression was visible through the helmets opaque visor, the turning of the bounty hunter's attention towards them was enough to get the three to sit down. Even the most powerful evil warriors in the galaxy were cautious about tangling with a Ta'Toon hunter, and these three were merely smugglers.

Melose sputtered and started to say something else, but was cut off by Brada. "Vel, dette var moro, men jeg har arbeid a gjore."

"Work?" Melose managed to ask just before Brada produced a blaster from somewhere in the folds of its tunic and shot him in the chest.

The denizens of the saloon turned at the sound of the shot, many drawing weapons. However, when they saw Brada calmly returning the blaster to its concealed holster and collecting its winnings, they all returned to their business.

As if it never noticed the response it created, Brada stood and picked up the body of Melose, which was rapidly turning a cold blue, from where he had fallen to the floor with the force of the blast. Hoisting the corpse over a shoulder, Brada nodded to the others remaining at the table and exited the saloon. Outside, it threw the corpse over the back of its skimmer bike, mounted and drove off towards the spaceport.

* * *

Twenty minutes later found Brada pulling into an empty landing bay in Onyx's spaceport. Stopping the bike, the bounty hunter dismounted and closed the ground level door and sealed it. Turning back to the bike Brada said, "Okay, it's all clear."

Melose sat up, his normal salmon-orange hue returning. He brushed at the burn mark from where the blaster bolt struck. It flaked away as he rubbed it. "Ugh, that stuff makes a mess," he complained.

"Better the make-up than hitting you with a stun burst strong enough to leave an actual burn," Brada countered as it approached.

"True," Melose responded, turning a pale shade of blue-green . . . his species' version of a rueful smile.

"Too bad we had to kill your cover," Brada commented.

"No worries," Melose's color darkened to the pure blue-green of a true smile, "It was time for me to pull out anyway. It will be nice to get home to Sucanti." As he finished speaking a subdermal implant in his tentacle flared to life. "Speaking of which, there's my ride," he comment just before he was teleported out.

The bay was empty and silent for a moment until, out of a ripple in the air, the Phantom Ranger became visible. "Everything work out on your end?"

Cassie Chan, Pink Space Ranger, pulled off the helmet that had served as part of her "Brada" cover and shook out her hair, "Yeah. We provided enough of a distraction?"

The Phantom held up the data crystal he had "acquired" during the few seconds of commotion after Melose was shot.

Cassie smiled, "Perfect. Let's get out of here and report to Brandon."

"Agreed," the Phantom responded as he gestured and the Phantom Fighter appeared.


	17. Broken Hearts

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 17: Broken Hearts**

Tommy sighed as he tossed the data pad down on the conference table, "This is so not good."

Continuing to scan through her own, Trini commented, "Not that I disbelieve you, although I desperately want to, but are we certain the information in accurate?"

Brandon sighed himself, "Unfortunately, yes. Boldarsh may run a crappy saloon, and the Onyx auction may result in more fights than commerce, but he does know his real business, and that's information. Andros, Trey, and I had already figured Thrax was using the Onyx shipyards as a base. They're the only old UAE base not under Alliance control that have facilities large enough to build something like the Darkthrone. After all, that's where Divatox's space base was built. With them being that close, I knew Boldarsh couldn't pass up the opportunity to collect data that he could possibly sell later."

"I'm surprised Dimitria didn't think of that," Tommy observed.

"Beings like Boldarsh are beneath her notice. During the war she didn't care where intel came from, only that it was accurate and useful to her," Brandon replied.

Trini noticed the tightness around Tommy's eyes and interjected, "And much of that is irrelevant. We have to assume the intel is good. Now we just have to try and determine what Thrax plans to do."

Brandon and Jason exchanged a dark look before Jason said, "We think we know."

* * *

Brandon looked around the room. It was an impressive sight. After all this many active Rangers hadn't been gathered in one place in well . . . ever, actually. However, the true reality of the situation made things a little less impressive. What appeared to be a large auditorium filled with Rangers was actually the simulator attached to his and Jason's Command Center on Eltar. The only Rangers physically present with him were his mate and the Eltaran team. Everyone else Brandon could see was on their respective home worlds, in their own simulators.

When Brandon and Jason had reviewed the data collected during the assault on Earth and correlated that with the information obtained by Olen, the Phantom Ranger, and Cassie Thrax's plan started to become frighteningly clear. After consulting with Trey, Delphine, Tommy, and Trini regarding the basic information, it was decided that a full briefing would be provided for every active Ranger in the galaxy. However, given the nature of the apparent threat, it was also decided that no planet could afford to be without its team, so this virtual conference was arranged.

Brandon took a deep breath, glanced at Jason and, receiving his supportive smile, began the briefing. "Rangers, thank you for coming. I realize that this is a momentous occasion, that there has never been a gathering of Rangers like this. Unfortunately, this gathering is occurring because there has never been a threat like this."

A murmur of concern went through the Rangers. Brandon gave it a moment to calm down and then continued, "As some of you know, Thrax recently launched multiple, simultaneous assaults on Earth. What we have since discovered is that these attacks were a cover for an exploratory mission into Earth-space. Initially, we weren't certain what they were after. Thankfully for us an undercover operation by the Phantom Ranger and the Pink Space Ranger provided us with the information on what Thrax's forces were really after. What they ultimately found." Brandon pulled out a remote and pressed a button. A hologram of a massive hunk of dark, cracked stone appeared. From the cracks a red glow issued. "This. The Heart of Dark Specter."

Another murmur of shock, much louder this time, went through the crowd. Several voices simultaneously made comments about Dark Specter being destroyed. Jason looked out into the crowd and signaled for quiet so Brandon could continue. When things calmed down, Brandon explained, "Dark Specter was destroyed prior to the final battle of the last war. However, his heart survived. As to how, well, that makes more sense if you understand what Dark Specter really was . . . a monster that had evolved."

This statement sent another shock wave through the assembled Rangers, and several Reds had to work to calm down their teams before Brandon could continue. "I want everyone to understand why this is so dangerous, so it requires a bit of a history lesson. Five hundred thousand years ago, during the height of their civilization, the Phaedosians began to explore the galaxy, where they soon encountered a race called the Marnon. The Marnon were, in most respects, the opposite of the Phaedosians. While the Phaedosians were connected to the Power, the Marnon revered the Darkness. Unsurprisingly, war soon broke out as the Marnon sought to destroy or enslave the other, still mostly primitive races of the galaxy. This war has become the stuff of legend and myth in many cultures, as it raged across the galaxy and touched many worlds whose people did not yet have the knowledge to understand who these beings really were. It also saw the birth of the first Rangers from among the ranks of the Ninjetti. Unfortunately, this was due to the creation of the first monsters by the Marnon."

"Those first Rangers set the tone for all of us who were to follow, because from the moment they were on the scene, things began to turn against the Marnon. In a last attempt to salvage victory, the Marnon created three . . . super monsters for lack of a better term. Each monster was built around a "heart" that acted as a resonator for the powers of Darkness . . . effectively an internalized dark morphing grid similar to the grids built into Lightning Cruiser and Storm Blaster. They were smarter, faster, and stronger than any creature that had come before them. Able to operate completely independently and size change at will, they were to be the Marnon's ultimate weapons . . . however, they ended up being their destruction as the creatures almost immediately turned on them and wiped out the Marnon race. It took nearly everything they had, but the first Ninjetti Rangers were able to destroy them, or so it appeared. Instead, the Rangers succeeded in destroying the bodies, but their hearts survived. What happened to the heart of the creature that would one day be called Dark Specter becomes mostly speculation after that . . . at least until he turned up a few centuries before Lord Zedd appeared and started consolidating the power base he would turn into the UAE."

"What about the other two hearts?" Someone in the audience asked. "Will Thrax be going after those?"

Branon shook his head, "No, because I'm fairly certain what happened to the other two, and they're no longer available." A chorus of why's and what happened's issued from the amassed Rangers. "The other two hearts drifted through space for several eons before they both landed on populated planets. The first crash landed in a volcano on Liaria and built itself a new body from the surrounding rock, emerging as the creature Malagore that was first imprisoned by the Liarian mystics and then destroyed by the Turbo Rangers. Even if Malagore's heart survived the battle, all data suggests it did not survive the collapse of the pocket dimension its prison was contained within."

"The second heart also ended up on Earth, but much later . . . only about three thousand years ago. There it mutated and became the Org Heart." A collective gasp could be heard from the Wildforce team. "We know for certain that this heart was destroyed because the Wildforce team and the Wildzords were able to do so directly."

Now Delphine clearly stated, "Which brings us back to what Thrax intends to do with the heart he does have."

Brandon sighed, "As I said, the hearts are resonators for the power of Darkness. Looking at all the data we've only been able to come up with one viable possibility. Thrax plans to use the heart to collect Dark energy and create his own energy wave. In essence, to reverse Zordon's sacrifice. If he succeeds, the heart could generate a strong enough wave to destroy all of us and tip the balance in this galaxy from Good to Evil . . . permanently."


	18. Path of Memory

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 18: Path of Memory**

Brandon was beginning to regret borrowing clothes from Tommy. It had been years since he had worn terrestrial fabrics, all of his current clothes being either Eltaran or Triforian . . . the latter mostly due to Trey's mother treating him like her own son and therefore constantly working to get him to wear things other than his Ranger uniform. As with her biological son it was mostly a wasted effort . . . much like Brandon's current outfit was a wasted effort. His Ranger uniform wouldn't have drawn any more attention than being an auburn-haired Caucasian wandering through one of the poorer areas of Hong Kong already was.

However, Brandon put the stares he was receiving out of his mind. The directions he had been able to obtain were vague, at best, having been provided to him in extremely broken Japanese. This left Brandon depending mostly on his instincts and his sense of the person he was seeking to find his way.

He turned off the main street at a corner that appeared to have the noodle shop that had been described to him and continued walking. Brandon began to doubt he was going the right way when he passed a side street and suddenly felt a surge of a familiar presence. Turning into what was little more than an alley he followed the strengthening energy until he came to a fence that appeared to enclose some kind of courtyard. Even if the energy he was sensing from beyond the fence didn't tell him he was in the right place the fence itself would have. Most Westerners wouldn't have been able to tell the difference, but the man who had built this fence had helped raise Brandon, so he was quite capable of telling a Japanese construction style from Chinese. The Jyuken symbols carved into the gate also helped.

Brandon tried the gate, and found it locked. "He's getting paranoid in his old age," he muttered to himself before looking around. Spotting no obvious witnesses he dropped into a partial crouch and then sprung into a leap over the fence, landing easily on the other side.

No sooner had Brandon hit the ground than another voice yelled, "Geki waza ho ho dan!" The Crimson Ranger looked in the direction of the voice and spotted a tiger composed of a fiery energy charging him. As it neared he responded with, "Geki waza senkou fenikkusu!" manifesting a phoenix of crimson and gold fire which slashed a talon through the charging tiger, dissipating it.

"So, you haven't completely forgotten what I taught you," the voice spoke in Japanese, the tense and the tone conveying mirth.

Brandon bowed. "Master Kandou," he greeted the elderly man, also in Japanese, who bowed in return. The formalities out of the way, they quickly crossed to each other and embraced.

Master Jan Kandou then led the way inside his home, where the whistling of a tea kettle could be heard, "When I sensed your presence, I put the kettle on. One of Ran's students was here last week; she needed some training in the finer points of Tiger technique. She brought some of that rose hip blend that Ran makes."

Brandon smiled at the mention of the Cheetah Kenshi. Although he had only met her once her motherly demeanor had endeared her to him. Brandon had been 13 when, under the guise of attending a Jyuken-only tournament, his parents had allowed Master Kandou to take him to Japan. The real purpose of the trip had been to reveal Brandon's role as the Phoenix Warrior to him and to give him the amulet. Brandon's hand went to his chest, to the spot where the amulet sat, all those years ago. He would have said those days seemed like a different lifetime . . . except in his case that was rather true.

Fingers being snapped in front of his face brought Brandon back to the present. "Only old men like me are supposed to get lost in their memories," Master Kandou announced. "Now, sit," he gestured towards the table. Brandon smiled and did as he was instructed.

Master Kandou puttered around, pouring the boiling water from the kettle into the teapot, and then transferring that to the table. The strong, warm aroma of the tea soon began filling the modest home. Reflexively, Brandon fell into a light meditation. As a child he had found meditation difficult, a trait his Master revealed they shared. However, Master Kandou taught Brandon to find moments in which waiting was a requirement and to use meditation to open himself to the waiting, and therefore to know the perfect moment to act. Given his Master's love of food Brandon was unsurprised, even as a child, that many of these lessons involved the wait for food or drink to be ready.

Soon, the perfect moment to serve the tea arrived, and Master Kandou poured them both a cup. They continued in their quiet for a few more moments, savoring the tea, until Brandon broke the silence, "So . . . Hong Kong?"

The old Kenshi smiled, "I go where Tiger leads. I returned to Japan briefly after . . ."

"My death," Brandon completed the sentence.

"Yes," Master Kandou agreed with a sigh. "However, I found no students there, but felt a strong pull here in Hong Kong. A young man who lives nearby. A Lion . . . and one incredibly in tune with his technique." The elder took a sip of his tea with a smile, "Much like you . . . no patience."

Brandon took the jab with humor, countering with one of his own, "Well then, it's a good thing you're teaching him then."

They both laughed, and returned to their quiet contemplation of their tea. After a few moments, it was Master Kandou's turn to break the silence, "How are your parents?" Brandon was not fast enough to mask the pain in his eyes, and the Kenshi added softly, "Bran-chan?"

Brandon smiled, as a tear rolled down his cheek, "Been a long time since you called me that." The Phoenix Champion sighed sadly, "By the time I returned to Earth, they had divorced. Jason was able to fill me in on most of what happened. After the initial shock and grief wore off, my mom started blaming my father, since he had been the reason we moved to Angel Grove to begin with. Thing was, he blamed himself. Dad's way of handling this was to bury himself further into his work. I think he was trying somehow to prevent others from experiencing what they did. I guess he succeeded, as many of his theories were turned into practical applications by Lightspeed . . . it was his work that made the Megabattles possible. Eventually, the distance was too much and Mom filed, Dad didn't fight. She moved back to Portland to care for my grandmother, eventually remarrying a widower with a little girl."

"You've never tried to contact them?"

"Jason and I had this argument a hundred times. Eventually Jason convinced me to try, so I started with my Dad. He seemed so . . . lost. No life other than his work. The meeting . . . didn't go well. Dad nearly had a psychotic break and I had to use my powers to make him think it was all a dream. After that, I couldn't risk doing that to Mom, not with that little girl needing her so much."

Brandon's second father stretched across the table and placed his hand on the hand of the young man who was as much his son as his former apprentice, "Bran-chan, I'm so sorry. I . . ."

"It's alright Master, it was my destiny to fall, and my parents' to find a way to deal with it. This was just the way they chose. And, something good came out of this . . . even though he believes our meeting was only a dream, the contact woke something up in my father. I checked on him about a week ago, he's been seeing an Art professor at AGU for about a year now."

They were again quiet and sipped their tea. Brandon wiped his cheek. Master Kandou eyed him critically for a few moments, and then commented, "So, this is goodbye, is it?"

Brandon sighed again, "More than likely. And this time it will be a permanent goodbye. The enemy we face, Thrax, has what is possibly the most powerful evil artifact currently extant. Even in a best case scenario I'm going to have to push myself to my absolute limit to destroy it . . . but Rangers very rarely get best case scenarios."

No sooner had Brandon finished speaking than a familiar six-toned chime issued from the bracelet around his wrist. He glared at the object and said, "I shouldn't have said anything," before responding, "Brandon here."

Jason's voice issued from the speaker, there was an edge to it as he asked, "Are you nearly done on Earth?"

"Yes . . . Jason, what's wrong?"

The Red Ninjetti's sigh was audible, "I need you on Onyx."

"Onyx?"

"Thrax attacked it."


	19. To Throw the First Stone

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 19: To Throw the First Stone**

Jason picked through the remains of the Fluid Abyss Saloon on the planet Onyx, the scanner built into his helmet searching for any sign of life. Around him, the Eltaran Rangers were doing the same . . . all with the same lack of success that the Ninjetti was having.

Jason sighed. Like all of Thrax's attacks this one had been fast, and vicious. Apparently the Zedd Lord had found out about Boldarsh's side business in information and had turned on his establishment and the surrounding colony. None of the beings killed in the attack could really be qualified as good . . . but most weren't really evil either. Selfish, self-serving, and criminal, but not truly evil. At least, not in a destroy worlds; conquer the galaxy kind of way. In a galaxy ruled by Thrax, they would have suffered just as much as anyone on the good side of neutral.

"Red Stallion!" the Eltaran Blue Ranger called for Jason's attention, pulling him from his thoughts . . . although, in the back of his mind, Jason wished for the umpteenth time that the Eltaran team members would call him by his name.

However, all those thoughts vanished when he saw why the other Ranger called for him. Eltaran Blue and Green had uncovered Boldarsh's body. At first glance, Jason would have sworn that the information broker found his end in a confrontation with Divatox, given the pattern of sword wounds across his body, except the pirate queen ceased to exist in the Zordon Wave and Devania had died when the Darkthrone attacked Inquiris Gam. "I guess they really were twins," Jason said, giving voice to his belief that it had been Dimitria wielding the sword that took Boldarsh's life.

Silence reigned again for a few moments, until it was broken by a flash of crimson fire and a rush of displaced air as Brandon arrived. He was unmorphed, and his expression was grim. The Eltaran Rangers all stood or turned to face him, but he waved them back to what they were doing. Jason approached and released his morph. Their eyes met and Brandon asked, "Any survivors?"

Jason shook his head and Brandon sighed bitterly in response. Gesturing to the ruins, Jason commented, "It looks like Thrax just let the gruesome fivesome go nuts. Seems a little extreme for revenge."

"It wasn't revenge," Brandon responded, his eyes scraping over the wreckage, "Boldarsh's info-grubbing only defined the target. This was a blood sacrifice."

"What?!"

"The dark powers Dimitira, Goldar, and the others expended, mixed with the varying degrees of evil within the victims, as well as all the anger and terror they experienced as they died were the first meal for the Heart. A way to kick start it so that it could start taking in the larger charges that Thrax is feeding it. And it worked. Darkhonda had a laboratory on one of the moons . . . the place used to be saturated with dark energy. I stopped there first, it's been sucked dry."

"So that's it," Jason's voice seemed distant; "he's going to set off his dark energy wave."

"Not yet. To get the kind of blast he wants, he'll need to feed the Heart massive amounts of dark energy. There's really only one other large source available, after that he'll have to channel his own powers into the Heart until it reaches critical mass."

"One other large source?" Jason asked. "Where? Maybe we can . . ."

Before Jason could finish, he was interrupted by a gold and black teleport burst. When it cleared, Trey locked eyes with Brandon, "I was too late. They were already there."

Brandon looked away and cursed under his breath. Jason looked at Trey and asked, "Where?"

"The Sumerian planet," the Gold Ranger answered him, "it's dead."

"Dead?"

"Dark Specter made the Sumerian planet his home for eons. The entire planet was saturated with Darkness. Hell, its ecology pretty much ran on it," Brandon explained. He then lifted his communicator and spoke into it, "Brandon to Alpha."

The automaton's high pitched voice responded, "Command Center responding, go ahead."

"Initiate priority emergency signal. Protocol Crimson Heart."

"Aiy, aiy, aiy."


	20. To Arms

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 20: To Arms**

The General Assembly Hall of the United Nations was unusually full . . . but then it was not every day that a special session of the full assembly was called at the request of the Power Rangers. Ninety-five percent of all the Ambassadors were present. For those few that weren't it was due to being in their home countries, and so their seats were filled by their assistants, acting as their proxies.

Even a few months ago a special session would have never seen this kind of turnout even with a Ranger scheduled to speak. A few months ago the Rangers and the menaces they fought were considered primarily the United States' problem. There had even been several countries that believed that the U.S. manufactured the Rangers and the monsters. The Countdown had changed the more industrialized countries opinions, as they had been primary targets for Astronema's invasion. However, recent events had changed the opinion of the remaining nations. If Brazil and Australia could be attacked by giant monsters . . . anywhere could be.

Trini stood next to Haley at one of the consoles in the Command Center. The newest Blue Ranger had "accessed" the video feed from the UN, allowing the Zeo Rangers to monitor the council chambers and choose their moment to arrive. After lengthy discussion, Zack and Trini had decided that making an entrance was the best way to convince some of the more likely resistant Ambassadors of the seriousness of the situation.

Trini took a deep breath. Even though she knew and had worked with many of the UN Ambassadors that she would be speaking to today, she was nervous. It was an odd sensation, in a way; Trini had never before been nervous about addressing anyone in the international community, even the leaders of nations. However, today she wasn't Trini Kwan-Taylor, freelance diplomat, advocate of international cooperation. Today she was Zeo Ranger 5 and would be warning the UN members to prepare for what could be the end of the world.

Zack took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Turning to look at him, Trini was graced with one of Zack's trademark smiles. "Ready whenever you are," he told her.

Haley looked up and Trini asked, "Are we ready?"

Haley smiled . . . almost mischievously, "Are you kidding? If I had this kind of tech to play with last year, Mesagog wouldn't have lasted a week. Hacking all the translator lines at once and routing them through the Command Center's universal translator is a piece of cake."

Zack laughed as Trini smiled at the comment. Then, collecting herself again Trini said, "Okay, let's do this." She and Zack crossed to the center of the computer level and Trini continued with, "It's Morphin' Time! Zeo Ranger 5, Red!"

Simultaneously Zack called out, "Zeo Ranger 4, Green!"

They morphed and then reached for their belt buckles, disappearing in twin bursts of red and green and reappearing out of identical bursts a split second later in the General Assembly Hall. The Hall, only moments before filled with the drone of overlapping conversations, went silent. The Secretary General, realizing there was no need to gavel the session to order, set the gavel down and stepped aside, gesturing for the Red Ranger to take the podium.

Trini put her hands on the sides of the podium and scanned the room . . . both with her eyes looking out through her visor, and with the threat assessment scanner built into it, the results of which were scrolling through the illusion of heads-up holographic display. The scanner informed her that there was no alien technology and nothing giving off a magical aura in the room. Her diplomatic experience told her which countries would be the hardest sells, be it from mistrust of Rangers, xenophobic tendencies, or just issues with the fact that the individual delivering the message appeared to be a woman.

"Ambassadors, staff members, and observers," Trini began, "I am Zeo Ranger 5. I speak on behalf of all Rangers who have served to defend the people of the Earth from threats terrestrial, extraterrestrial, and extra-dimensional." A murmur started going through the room as the delegates began realizing the voices speaking in their ears were not those of their normal translators. Trini quickly offered explanation, "Regarding the translations many of you are hearing, due to the nature of the situation we cannot afford misunderstanding. Therefore we have overridden the normal wireless frequencies used by your translators and are patching this speech through our system, which is capable of far more efficient, accurate, as well as instantaneous translation." Before dissent could begin, she continued, "Earth is facing a threat greater than it ever has before, even during the Countdown. The force behind the attacks of the last few months is not interested in conquest, but in destruction . . . and is en route to Earth in full force."

* * *

From his seat on the Command Deck of the Triforian flagship _Warrior Prince_ Trey observed the tactical display of the Allied Worlds armada amassing around Earth. Billy's calculations had shown that the best place for Thrax to set off his darkness wave was just inside lunar orbit. Therefore, the armada was being arrayed just outside lunar orbit intersecting the most likely vectors something the size of the Darkthrone would use to approach the planet.

"Gold Ranger," the tactical officer called for his attention, holding to Triforian military tradition of addressing the holder of the Gold Staff as a Ranger, rather than as a member of the Royal Family.

Trey turned his attention to the officer, "Tactical?"

"The fleet has taken position as per orders." The veteran officer continued her report, knowing the information Trey would require next, "Long range scans are not detecting any incoming traffic. However, given the Darkthrone's last known position, the most likely approach vector is currently obscured by the system's primary gas body's gravitational shadow."

"How long until our orbit will allow us to scan past the shadow?"

"A tren," the officer responded, indicating a Triforian period slightly longer than an Earth hour. "However," she continued, "we could have a rush-probe positioned to scan around the shadow in a matren."

Trey smiled. Five Terran minutes. "Launch the probe."

There was a slight shudder as the probe launched, followed by the whisper quiet swish of the lift doors opening. Trey turned his chair and smiled at his friends and fellow Rangers as Brandon, Jason, and the Ninjetti Rangers arrived on the Command Deck. The Tactical officer was obviously about to call Rangers in Command, requiring all officers to stand in respect. However, Brandon cut her off before she could with a quiet, "As you were." She nodded and returned her attention to her station.

Jason, Brandon, Tommy, and Kim approached Trey. Billy headed for the nearest science station. Adam, Rocky, and Aisha hung back, trying to stay out of the way . . . while they had their parts to play, manning a command station or conferencing with Trey weren't them.

"How did it go?" Trey asked, switching to English from Triforian.

"Trini just called," Kim answered. "There was quite a bit of drama, especially after the whole "alien armada" thing came up, but the world's governments are preparing themselves. Quite a few are not thrilled with the idea of deferring to Rangers should this become a ground war . . . but they all seemed to acknowledge their militaries are outmatched."

Tommy picked up, "Lightspeed Island has submerged and activated the defense systems Billy designed. Wild Force has remained stationed there. The Ninjas and Silver Guardians have moved to a subterranean Biolab facility in the Rockies. Everybody else; the Zeos, Turbos, and Dino Thunders are all stationed at the Command Center."

Jason chuckled, "I'm sure Haley's thrilled."

Tommy smirked, "Haley covers it well, but she's just as bad as Kim when it comes to worrying about the kids."

Kim elbowed Tommy, who grunted, "You're worst."

There was a stress-relieving chuckle, and then Brandon picked up his part of the report, "Andros was able to use the current situation, and a rather nasty correspondence from me to the Karovian Space Authority, to finally get the _Sword of Mirinoi_ launched, so the Galaxies are mobile again. They and the Spacers are on standby. The Aquatarians, Eltarans, and Sirians are keeping an eye on the rest of the galaxy."

Trey steepled his fingers, "Then, we're as ready as we can be."

Moments later, the Tactical Officer called, "Rangers! Probe is detecting a massive hyper-rush wave front!"

Billy called from the science station, "Wave mass is consistent with the Darkthrone and a UAE Dreadnought."

Brandon and Trey made eye contact and Trey commanded, "Battle stations!"


	21. Battle Cry

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 21: Battle Cry**

Alert sirens blared, warning lights flashed and the crew of the _Warrior Prince_ made ready for battle. Trey issued orders, "Bring the ship around. Priority signal to the rest of the fleet, converge on these coordinates as planned."

There was a chorus of "Aye sirs," from across the command deck . . . drowned out as the Tactical Officer yelled, "Multiple teleport signals detected!"

Trey spun in his chair, "Billy!"

Billy didn't even look back as he entered the remote command and said, "Firing." Across the near side of the planet a series of Tri-Lupus, Biolab, and NASADA owned transmission arrays powered up and fired an invisible burst comprised of anti-protons. The rare quantum particle, the very one that almost killed Billy in his youth, flooded into space. Checking his readouts one last time, Billy turned to the others, "Further teleportation should be disrupted for the next thirty minutes. Thrax will also have to wait until the anti-proton field clears before he can trigger his wave or it will collapse."

Trey nodded and turned to the Tactical Officer, "What got through before the anti-proton burst?"

"Twenty-eight percent of the teleport mass was destabilized when the burst was fired," she reported.

Tommy said, "Trini and the others can handle it."

"Right," Jason agreed. "They've got their job now, we've got ours."

* * *

On Earth, in the Command Center, Zack was fairly certain that his wife was channeling Jason and Tommy as she quickly assessed the situation and began issuing combat assignments.

"Wes and Eric to San Francisco. Do we have a lock on the Silver Guardian teams they're wanting as back-up?" Haley nodded and so Trini continued, "Teleport them too. What do we have in Chicago?"

Alpha reported, "Six Tallicks, no monster class, and two dozen each of Quantrons and Batlings."

"Get the Turbos on that. Be ready to pull them out to back up other teams when they finish. Ninjas to Toronto . . . Zord teleport on standby. Lightspeed to London, Wildforce to Cairo, and Dinos to Moscow."

Behind her Conner groaned and said, "Aw, we wanted Tokyo."

Trini looked at him and grinned, "Sorry Conner, veteran Ranger privilege . . . we get to fight the giant monster in Tokyo." She turned back to Alpha, "On that note, are the Super Zeo Zords ready?"

If he could have, the automaton would have smiled, "Back online and better than ever."

"Then launch the Zords. Okay Rangers . . . **It's Morphin' Time!**"

* * *

Aboard the _Warrior Prince_, Brandon, Jason, Tommy, Kim, Billy, Adam, Aisha, and Rocky sprinted into the launch bay. The last of the first wave of fighters was clearing the magnetic atmosphere barrier as they arrived.

"Okay, once we're clear we head for the Darkthrone, cutting a . . ." Brandon's review of the plan was cut off as Kim said, "Not me."

The other Rangers turned to her. Kim's expression was hard, determined, and just a little bit scary, "I'm going after Dimitria."

"Beautiful . . ."

"No Tommy. That bitch is going down for what she did to you and the others."

Tommy looked ready to argue, but Jason put his hand on Tommy's shoulder and said, "Pink."

Tommy put up his hands in a sign of surrender. "Just be careful," he told her.

Kim smiled, "Always," and then kissed her husband.

That settled all the Rangers stood around for a moment, as if they were waiting for something. After a few seconds, Brandon realized that they were all staring at him. "What? Oh, you want me to do this?"

Jason chuckled, "It's your show love."

Brandon blushed and then took his stance. "Okay then, **It's Morphin' Time!**"

"Red Stallion Ranger Power!"

"White Falcon Ranger Power!"

"Pink Crane Ranger Power!"

"Blue Wolf Ranger Power!"

"Green Frog Ranger Power!"

"Yellow Bear Ranger Power!"

"Black Ape Ranger Power!"

"Phoenix Ranger Power!"

The Rangers morphed and then ran at the atmosphere barrier, summoning their Zords just before passing through. Each Zord coalesced around its respective Ranger and then as a group they headed for Thrax's forces.

As they reached the first line of the Darkthrone's defenses they broke formation, the others engaging any fighters or smaller craft between them and the Darkthrone, while Kim peeled off and made a run at the _Vengence_.

The Crane dove and weaved through the Velocifighters, vaporizing the craft with cannons mounted just under her wing joints. She was quickly in range of the dreadnaught's weapons batteries, which opened up with everything they had. However, all they kept finding was the void of space, their target being too fast and maneuverable for the cannons to lock onto. In the cockpit Kim laughed and yelled, "I love my Zord!" as she launched a salvo of missiles into the _Venegence's_ main weapon battery.

The first two impacted on the ship's shields. The third made the shields buckle. The fourth and the shields in that section collapsed. Missiles five and six tore a gaping hole in the ship. Kim hit her thrusters, accelerating at the opening. She closed the distance in seconds, and just before reaching the periphery of the where the shields used to be Kim released the Crane. The Zord dissolved back into the Grid and Kim road the momentum through the hole she had created and into the ship.

There was still power running to the gravity generators in the deck plates, so Kim gently landed on her feet. All the air had vented into space, but Kim's Ranger armor was a self-contained environment, so she wasn't worked about suffocating. As she looked around, Kim noted that neither did the few surviving Quantrons, as they didn't breathe and only needed air so they could be heard when speaking. She quickly took them out with a series of blade blaster bursts.

The machine henchmen out of the way, Kim turned her attention to gaining access to the rest of the ship. Blowing out the hull had caused the emergency bulkheads to seal, however Kim had been prepared for that. Upon arriving on the _Warrior Prince_ Kim had taken advantage of the Triforian military officers' deference to Rangers and had one of them access everything the ship's computers had on UAE dreadnaughts. What she had planned to gain access to the rest of the ship would take split second timing . . . Kim smirked to herself as she thought that anyone who wasn't her would have been screwed.

Even though the sound of her voice wouldn't be heard beyond her own helmet, Kim still called, "Crane Bow!" In a flash of pink light, the Ninjetti version of her old power weapon manifested. The new bow was much more ornate, far less blocky, and a hell of a lot more powerful that the original. Kim touched the string and a glowing arrow comprised of a pink-tinged, crystalline metal appeared. Kim drew and concentrated, the glow around the arrow intensifying. When the glow became so bright that it completely obscured the arrow, she loosed . . . and immediately chased after the arrow. The charged arrow impacted into the blast doors, punching a hole through them. Kim dived through the explosion, hit the deck in the corridor and rolled. She regained her feet just as a containment barrier coalesced less than a centimeter behind her.

* * *

"Where is she!?" Dimitria screeched at the Quantrons manning the bridge stations.

"Unknown Mistress," the Quantron at the Ops station reported in its electronic monotone. "Last known position was Deck 8. Intruder destroyed the internal sensor array."

"You're more incompetent than Centurions! She is a lone Ranger, and a Pink one at that! How . . ." before Dimitria could continue her rant, the emergency hatch built into the bridge's deck was blown inward.

The Pink Ninjetti Ranger leapt up through the hole she just created, flipped, and landed in a battle ready pose on the deck. She glared at the former cleric and now murderess through her visor, "You're forgetting . . . Pink's a shade of Red."

Dimitira took a step back and yelled, "Quantrons!"

The robots began to move, but were barely away from their stations when Kim called, "Firebird Thunder Whip!" and lashed out, severing each Quantrons head from its shoulders in rapid succession. As the whip retracted and Dimitria looked on aghast, Kim commented, "You like it? Billy rebuilt it for me."

Dimitria made a move for her sword. Kim shifted and lashed out again, the tip of the whip grazing Dimitria's cheek . . . leaving a trail of blood. Her hand went to her cheek as Kim calmly informed her, "Go for that sword, and I'll take the hand."

Dimitria glared at the Ranger, and taunted, "So, what will it be now Kimberly? Take me back into custody? It will do you little good . . . Lord Thrax will not fail."

Under her helmet, Kim rolled her eyes. "Believe what you want about Thrax's chances, the fact is, you hurt my friends. You hurt my husband. It took him years to get over being "retired" by you." Dimitria began to smile cruelly until Kim continued, "You're not walking away this time bitch. In fact, when I'm done, you won't be walking again, ever."

Dimitria thought about taunting the Ranger. Accuse her of being incapable of backing up the threat. But something in her voice, something in her posture told Dimitria she wasn't bluffing. Dimitria went for her sword.


	22. Boarding Party

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 22: Boarding Party Part 1**

As Kim peeled off in the Crane Zord Brandon, Jason, and the rest of the Ninjetti Rangers continued their run at the Darkthrone. Each Ranger picked the nearest target that was between them and the massive space station, but otherwise they let the Triforian Starblade squadrons deal with the smaller craft.

They were quickly through the defense lines . . . there were few things that could stand up to a Zord born out of the Power itself . . . and came into range of the Darkthrone's weapons. These presented more of a problem, since each cannon packed the firepower of a monster. The Stallion, Wolf, Bear, Ape, and Frog danced and weaved around the perimeter, drawing the cannons' fire, forcing them to open a gap . . . a gap that the Phoenix and the Falcon shot through, firing missiles.

According to Finster, the Darkthrone's defenses depended a great deal on the mass and density of the asteroid into which it was built. Therefore most of its surface had only basic shield cover, weapons emplacements were more strongly shielded, as were the launch bays and the palace-like structure that rose up out of the asteroid. Tommy and Brandon knew going into their run that the shields covering the Darkthrone's weapons were far stronger than what Kim was dealing with on the _Vengeance_ and that their missiles had little chance of getting through. That's why they were using Billy's new pulse missiles . . . warheads that released a pulsar grade burst of electromagnetic energy upon detonation . . . blinding the cannons' sensors, disrupting their power systems, and hopefully deep-frying the circuitry of the Quantrons manning them.

Regardless of whether or not that last goal was achieved, the weapons covering the main landing bay stopped firing. The Rangers regrouped and, over their commlink, Brandon called, "Ninjetti Pegasus Megazord!" The Pegasus Megazord formed from the Phoenix and Stallion Zords with the Ninjetti Zords configuring themselves as armor around it. The combined Zord grabbed onto the Darkthrone and then punched through the force field covering the landing bay aperture. Seconds later a hatch in the back of the Megazord's hand opened and the Rangers poured out of it. Rocky was the last one out and, as he jumped clear, the Megazord dissolved back into the Grid.

* * *

In the throne room, Thrax regarded the sight on the monitor before him. "As with their mentor, so with them," the Zedd Lord observed. "They seek to confront me in my own home. Very well." Turning to his generals, "Prepare to receive borders."

Gant, Goldar, Vypra, and Cenogog bowed to their Master and then ran to confront the Rangers.

* * *

The landing bay was quickly filling with Quantrons, Batlings, and of course, Tallicks, surrounding the Rangers. Brandon addressed his friends, "Everybody knows where they're going?" He got a round of affirmative responses and then added, "Okay . . . call upon your weapons! Phoenix Avenger, saber mode!"

Tommy called; "Horus!" and his saber appeared. When he had gained his new power, the White Ranger had discovered that the sentience that once dwelled in his former weapon and had been called Saba had been reborn in his new, falcon-motif sword, which had declared itself Horus in honor of its new form.

The rest of the Rangers quickly followed suit:

"Stallion Sword!"

"Wolf Lance!"

"Bearclaw Daggers!"

"Frog Axe!"

"Ape Staff!"

Brandon paused for another second, and then yelled, "Go!" The Rangers split up and waded into the gathered enemy troops.

* * *

As it had been since they were little, Aisha, Adam, and Rocky moved as one. The Yellow Ranger sprinted towards an oncoming group of two Quantrons and a Tallick. As she moved she threw her daggers at the flanking Quantrons, impaling them both through the necks and they went down in a shower of sparks. The Tallick made to grab Aisha, but she launched into an up-and-over flip, leaving the minion wide open for two quick slashes from Adam's axe. As the Tallick began to crack and glow, the Green Ranger dropped into a split so that Rocky could jab end of his staff into the Tallick's belly. The Black Ranger then lifted the Tallick on the end of his staff, spun, and threw it into a mixed group of enemy troops . . . felling them by using the Tallick's explosive properties to his advantage.

The explosion cleared a path and now what Aisha had learned from her time in Africa came to the fore . . . how to function on her own. She looked back at her ersatz brother and gave him a nod. She then looked at her husband. Even through the visors their eyes met, and Aisha knew that the eyes that looked back at her were full of love. Grabbing her daggers out of the fallen Quantrons, Aisha said, "Have fun boys" and then ran for the ventilation access port that the explosion cleared of defenders.

Getting there and taking out the few remaining enemies, Aisha discovered that the explosion had also partially ripped off the access cover . . . her Ranger strength easily finished the process. The Yellow Ranger dived into the duct and began crawling towards her destination, the heads-up display in her visor providing her with directions. Despite the Rangers' preference to function as a group, time required that they divide their forces. Adam and Rocky were to break as much stuff as possible and generally create chaos for the enemy. Billy was supposed to find the darkness wave machinery and shut it down, with Tommy as back-up. Brandon and Jason were going after Thrax. Aisha's job was to get to the control center and wreck it.

Aisha's plan was to drop into the control center from the ventilation vent directly above it. As she approached her helmet sensors alerted her to the gas-permeable, but otherwise solid force field guarding the last twenty yards of her path. Aisha paused to consider her options when the duct exploded around her. Her Ranger armor protected her from the blast and Aisha dropped to the deck in the corridor below her, landing in a crouch. As the smoke cleared she was able to make out the cause of the explosion standing a few yards away in front of the blast doors to the control center . . . Vypra.

The silver-winged demoness pointed her sword at Aisha. "So, you're the Yellow Ninjetti," she stated more than asked. Continuing with a sneer, Vypra taunted, "I can't believe you've ever been a threat . . . you're even smaller that the Lightspeed version of your hideous Color."

Aisha just shrugged, "And you'd be Vypra, huh? When I was younger I would have stood here and traded insults with you, but I just don't have the time today. So come on," the Yellow Ninjetti Ranger twirled her twin daggers and went into a battle-ready stance, "time to boogie with the bear."

* * *

As Aisha ran towards the ventilation access Rocky looked at Adam and asked, "Engine room?"

Under his helmet Adam smiled, "Still sounds like the best plan to me."

The Green and Black Rangers sprinted for the bank of lifts near the back of the landing bay, dispatching the various minions that attempted to stop their progress as they went. Reaching the lift Rocky tried the controls. "Locked down," he commented, unsurprised.

"I've got the key right here," Adam responded, switching his axe to cannon mode and proceeding to blow a hole in the lift doors and destroying the locking mechanism within them.

"I suppose you want me to get these the rest of the way open?" Rocky asked even though he was already using the hole to get a hand grip.

"I'm just a frog, but have ape, will travel," Adam replied with a laugh.

With barely a grunt the Black Ape Ranger pried the lift doors apart and then bracing his back against one side and pushing the other open with both hands; he opened a space for Adam to slip through. The Green Frog didn't even wait for his partner to say anything, as soon as there was space Adam leapt through, Rocky right behind them as they went into freefall down the lift shaft.

"Our stop's coming up fast," Rocky observed.

"Time for Billy's new toy then," Adam replied as he reached for his belt and retrieved a thick metal disk. Pressing the large button on one side the then hurled it down the shaft ahead of them. Just below the floor they wanted the disk exploded, filling the shaft with a thick web. The spaces in the web then quickly filled in, until there was a solid platform filling the shaft.

The two Rangers flipped and landed on the platform, which gave slightly under their weight, but was otherwise stable. Adam blasted a hole in the shaft door as he had done prior, however, this time the moment the hole was made it filled with blaster fire from the corridor outside. Rocky and Adam dived for the walls.

"Okay," Adam commented, "I'm beginning to see why Andros is so ready with his blaster."

"We have a second problem," Rocky added, looking down at the floor Billy's device had made.

Adam followed Rocky's gaze, his scanner showing him the same thing . . . the lift rapidly moving up the shaft towards them. The two Rangers looked at each other and then Adam tossed Rocky his blade blaster and then made a few adjustments to his Axe.

Seconds later the lift doors exploded into corridor under the full power of the Frog Axe cannon. Even before the doors hit the ground Rocky leapt into the corridor, firing both his and Adam's blade blasters, felling the Quantrons that had been waiting for them. Adam followed Rocky, clearing out of the lift shaft just as the lift car smashed through the surface they had been standing on. Even though it was damaged, the lift managed to stop and began to disgorge Batlings. Adam hit the deck, rolled and converted his weapon back to axe mode, regained his feat and spun, slicing through the minor demons.

Rocky handed Adam back his blade blaster and said, "Our lives rock."

From behind Rocky, further down the corridor, a contemptuous voice said, "Your lives are about to be over."

The Green and Black Rangers faced the speaker and found Gant standing between them and the engine room.

"Ex-Chancellor Gant, I presume?" asked Adam, a significant degree of sarcasm in his voice.

"I was kinda hoping for Goldar," Rocky comment, re-manifesting his staff.

"I assure you, the power my Master has given me more than makes me a match for you two," he responded with a continued sneer. However, his sneer quickly turned to a pained expression and power crackled all around him. The former politician then screamed as he exploded out of his garments . . . his mass quickly quadrupling, his skin turning purple and bony armor covering his torso and legs.

As the two Rangers went into defensive poses, Rocky observed, "Okay, didn't see that one coming."

"What, are you new?" Adam asked as Gant roared and attacked.


	23. Boarding Party Part II

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 23: Boarding Party Part II**

Brandon paused for another second, and then yelled, "Go!" Billy immediately split his staff in half and threw the two parts into the approaching minions. His studies of Karovian data on the Quantrons allowed him to impale two in their power cores. These fell back, sparking and then exploding. This did not harm the Tallicks in that part of the landing bay, but other nearby Quantrons as well as Batlings fell in the blast.

The Tallicks and remaining Quantrons and Batlings continued to advance through the wreckage. However, a flash of white and silver spun through the air, slicing into the Tallicks' chest medallions. Tommy caught Horus as the sentient weapon returned to him and once again Thrax's main troops' explosive properties were used against their allies. Their path to the main blast doors now mostly clear Tommy drew his blade blaster and went into a sprint, shooting and slicing minions as they went, Billy close on his heels and grabbing the two halves of his weapon as they ran.

Once in the corridors of the ship, they continued to meet resistance, but this was primarily Batlings and Quantrons. "I surmise," Billy said as he spun, slicing through a Quantron with his lance, "that Thrax limits use of Tallicks in the main corridors and chambers of the Darkthrone." Coming out of his spin Billy drew his blade blaster and put a bolt between a Batling's eyes. "After all, their explosive nature could do significantly more damage to vital systems in the more narrowly confined parts of the station."

"Good point," Tommy responded as he simultaneously took on six opponents at once, as if there wasn't nearly a dozen years between the first time he was White Ranger and now. As the last Quantron dropped into a pile of sparking debris, he observed, "These things may be smarter, but I still say Cogs were tougher." Looking to the Blue Ranger he asked, "Got a fix on it yet?"

"Affirmative. The entire central section of this level matches the energy trace of Dark Specter Alpha pulled from DECA's sensor logs."

The two Rangers moved in the direction Billy indicated, dispatching any opposition as they moved. The blast doors that would allow access to the machinery that was to generate the Darkness Wave were sealed and far too think for either Ranger's weapons to cut or blast through. However, the circuitry in the door control panel was able to challenge Billy for only three minutes. The doors opened just wide enough for Tommy and Billy to pass through one at a time before the back-up circuit stopped them, but the feedback loop the Blue Ranger set up prevented the back-up from resealing the doors.

They entered the chamber. The silvery machinery infinitely reflected the red light issuing from the Heart floating in its anti-grav container in the center of the room. Billy was intently studying the machinery when Tommy suddenly shoved him to the side and then dived the opposite direction . . . a split second before Cenogog slammed into the floor right where they had been standing. The reptilian clone regained his feet and hissed, backing up into a position that prevented either Ranger from being behind him.

Billy readied his staff, but Tommy said, "Bill, deal with the machine," as he squared himself against Cenogog. Dropping into a battle stance, the White Ranger switched Horus to a reverse grip and continued, "I owe this to Anton."

* * *

As the other Rangers engaged the various minions Brandon looked at Jason and asked, "You going to be upset if we don't get in on this fight?"

"Not really," the Red Ranger responded with a chuckle, "we've got bigger fish to fry."

Nodding Brandon drew the Phoenix Avenger and blasted through the upper-level control station's windows with three quick bursts. He and Jason then took advantage of the path Adam and Rocky were clearing and followed them. However, instead of following their fellow Rangers into the lift shaft, the Red and Crimson Rangers jumped, ricocheted off the outer wall of the shaft, and through the windows into the landing bay control room. There they quickly dispatched the few remaining Quantrons that had remained in the control room and moved into the station corridors.

The two Rangers worked their way steadily up the levels, out of the sections of the station built into the hollowed-out asteroid and into the palace-like structure that rose from the surface. However, as they moved closer to the throne room on the uppermost level they noticed that instead of the opposition increasing, as would be expected, it was instead decreasing. Reaching the bottom of the grand staircase that marked the transition between the throne room level and the one below it Brandon commented, "Well, doesn't this scream trap."

He was answered by a gruff, growling voice, the speaker just out of sight at the top of the stairs, "That's because it is." Upon finishing his statement, Goldar came into view.

"I'm hurt Goldie," Jason taunted, "It seems like everyone else has gotten to see you, but you've had no time for me, your original sparring partner?"

In the past Goldar would have snarled, made some ridiculous boast, and attacked without thinking. However, dying apparently taught him some degree of patience, as he slowly descended the staircase, sword at the ready, "You will be far more than hurt, Red Ranger. This will be our long awaited last meeting, as it was meant to be."

Now Goldar spread his wings and lunged. Brandon had just enough time to ask, "Old business?" and Jason just enough time to respond affirmatively, "Old business," before Goldar was on them. Brandon blocked an initial strike from the Camian warrior and then dived into a roll, regained his feet behind Goldar, and proceeded to sprint up the stairs. Goldar tried to stop him with a blast of energy channeled through his sword, but it was poorly aimed as he had to shift back to block a strike from the Red Ranger and therefore missed the Crimson Ranger by a significant margin.

Brandon hit the upper level and sprinted down the short hallway to the ornate throne room doors. A max-power blast from the Phoenix Avenger knocked the doors into the chamber. Never breaking stride the Crimson Ranger leapt through the smoke and debris, shifting the Avenger to Saber mode as he went, coming to a stop in the opulent throne room.

At the opposite end of the massive chamber, Thrax sat upon this throne. His helmet was off and he was resting his chin on one hand, a finger stroking his beard absent-mindedly. "You know," the Zedd Lord commented, "the doors were unlocked."

Brandon's stance was relaxed, but ready as he responded, "I'm a Ranger. We like to make an entrance."

Thrax stood and withdrew his staff from the holder built into the side of his throne. There was an echoing metal clang as the spear-point like base of the staff connected with the marble floor. "As I understand it, the Champion of the Phoenix is better known for his exits." Thrax continued as his helmet snapped into existence over his head and face, "Let's see if it's true." The Zedd Lord attacked.


	24. Pegasus

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Chapter 24: Pegasus**

"So come on," the Yellow Ninjetti Ranger twirled her twin daggers and went into a battle-ready stance, "time to boogie with the bear."

Vypra drew her sword into a strike position and lunged. Aisha stopped the attack with a cross block and shoved the other weapon away. Two quick swipes at the demoness' midsection opened some space, giving the Ranger to chance to nail Vypra in the belly with a side kick.

Once upon a time Aisha would have never risked going one-on-one, daggers versus sword. But that was during her first incarnation as the Yellow Ranger, when she was primarily dependent on the knowledge the Power imparted in her on how to use her Power Daggers. However, her time in Africa served to do more than just advance her veterinary knowledge . . . it also gave her the opportunity to study knife fighting with people who are raised with the skill.

Vypra backed up with the force of the kick and Aisha was right on top of her. She tried channeling dark energy through her sword, but the Yellow Ranger dodged, by running down the corridor wall at her. As she ran she threw one dagger, burying it in Vypra's wrist, causing her to drop her sword. Vypra's eyes went to her arm and she pulled the dagger out, bloodlessly.

As Vyrpa looked back up, the Yellow Ranger was on top of her. Aisha switched her dagger to a reverse grip and struck Vypra in the sternum with the pommel, channeling the power of the Bear into the strike.

There was a metallic crack and Vypra stumbled back. Vypra's eyes found Aisha's visor, filled with shock. The once-demoness' body stiffened and began to turn ashen. "What?" Vypra asked, the motion causing her cheek to crack.

The Yellow Ranger just regarded her for a moment before speaking, "Billy theorized you were just a glorified Z-Patroller . . . a sentience in a body of metagenic clay. Looks like he was right."

Vypra tried to scream, but there was no sound as her body crumbled to dust. Aisha calmly walked up and retrieved her other dagger and then made quick work of the control center blast doors and the Quantrons behind them with her blade blaster. Less than two minutes after defeating Vypra the Yellow ranger broke radio silence, "This is the Bear. Control Center secured."

* * *

Adam and Rocky dove out of the way as the thing that had been Gant charged. Rocky spun his staff into the small of Gant's back; the once-politician backhanded the Black Ranger into the bulkhead.

Adam fired a series of blaster bolts into Gant's armored hide, drawing him away from Rocky. When they were younger, the Rangers rarely drew their blade blasters, depending on their martial skill and power weapons. However, age and experience had taught them the benefit of expediency. Unfortunately, the weapon had little effect on Gant. It did get him to turn and charge at the Green Ranger. Adam channeled the power of the Frog and leapt, coming down on Gant's head and driving him into the deck.

Gant pulled himself up from the deck with a roar and spun . . . into a spin kick double-team from the Black and Green Rangers. The force of the blow knocked Gant into the blast doors to the engine room, which buckled under the strain. He glared at the two Rangers and began to roar again, but the sound died in his throat and his eyes went wide . . . two Rangers were charging down the corridor at him, their power weapons at full charge.

"But . . . Rangers don't kill," Grant stammered out in his now-growling voice.

"We don't kill people. We do destroy monsters," the Green Ranger clarified as he raised his glowing axe.

"And guess what you are now," the Black Ranger added, spinning his glowing staff.

Gant closed his eyes just before he went the way of every monster that went up against the Rangers. Just over two minutes later, after breaking through the remains of the blast doors and cleaning up the opposing Quantrons and Batlings Adam reported in on behalf of the duo, "This is Ape and Frog, engine room secured."

* * *

Cenogog lunged, slashing with the talons on his three-fingered hands. Sparks flew as Tommy deflected the talons with Horus. The White Ranger retaliated with a slash that would have opened the mutated clone's throat had he not jumped back in time. Landing, Cenogog whipped his head forward, unleashing a psychokinetic blast, intended to knock his opponent into bulkhead, which buckled slightly as the shockwave struck it . . . however, Tommy was already airborne, the Falcon executing a spinning flip up and over Cenogog.

Meanwhile, Billy had followed Tommy's command to see to the massive machine that would use the Heart of Dark Specter to flood the galaxy with a wave of pure Darkness. It would destroy anyone fully aligned with the power of Light . . . as it had with Dark Specter's minions a decade ago. Anyone closer to the line would be pushed into the Darkness. Earth would fair the worst. As Thrax's planned ground zero, Earth would become a new Sumerian planet, a hub of Darkness that would only be eradicated with the destruction of all life on the planet. Accessing the control panel next to the massive anit-grav container holding the Heart, the Blue Ranger prayed to the Power his hacking skills were up to the task.

Tommy deflected another blow. He hated to admit it, but Cenogog was an extremely dangerous opponent. While the clone was much, much faster, his fighting style was identical to Mesogog's, which was the only thing allowing the White Ranger to hold his own in this fight. Another flurry of strikes, parries, and blocks ended suddenly with Tommy flying into the machinery . . . Cenogog apparently had a few tricks of his own. As Tommy hit the floor, Horus spinning away out of his grip, the White Ranger cursed himself for getting overconfident. That's why he never saw the spin kick coming.

Before Tommy could regain his feet, Cenogog was on him, claws around the White Ranger's throat, slamming him back into the machinery. Only the armor protected Tommy's esophagus from being crushed. Cenogog leaned in close and hissed, "I will kill you now, Ranger."

Tommy swore that he could smell the stench of Cengog's breath, even through the air filtration built into helmet. However, he still smiled grimly as he said, "I doubt it."

Cengog's eyes widened as he felt the object pressed against his neck. Before he could react to the new attack there was a mechanical hiss and the clone could feel the hypospray injecting him with something. Cenogog dropped Tommy and spun, slashing with his claws . . . however the Blue Ranger had already dived out of the way. Staggering towards Billy, Cenogog demanded, "What . . . what did you do to me human!?"

Holding up the hypospray, Billy explained, "Tommy acted as a decoy so that I could inject you with the compound Dr. Mercer developed to separate himself from Mesogog."

Cenogog continued to move towards Billy, but it was clear the compound was having a catastrophic effect on the creature. His movements were slowing and becoming jerky and the site of injection was quickly blistering and beginning to ooze. The effect accelerated exponentially with each second. In less than a minute the mutant clone was reduced to a vaguely humanoid-shaped pile of smoking goo.

Tommy broke radio silence, "This is Falcon and Wolf. Wave machine secured."

* * *

In the past a battle between Jason and Goldar would have been filled with taunts, insults, and threats, but this time the only sounds were grunts, the crash of blade on blade, and occasional growls. The hatred towards the Red Ranger that had once burned in Goldar had cooled to something hard, and razor sharp. While he still despised the Ranger, he would no longer allow his emotions to rule his choices in battle . . . it had cost him too dearly against Draeveus.

Jason could immediately tell the difference in how Goldar was handling this fight. However, despite his greater focus, and greater power, there was nothing new to the Camian warrior's fighting style. The Red Ranger, on the other hand, had over a decade to hone his fighting skills. Once, Jason told Tommy that the then Green Ranger was the better with a sword . . . but that was before he had the chance to study the sword fighting techniques of a half dozen worlds and Ranger teams alongside his mate.

Goldar slashed. Jason parried and deflected using a Sirian technique he had picked up from Anubis Cruger. With Goldar's sword shoved out of the way he was open to Jason's trademark tornado kick . . . backed up by the power of the Stallion.

The winged warrior flew back, smashing through the staircase railing before being able to stop himself. He looked up ready to lunge back into battle, but found that the Red Ranger was already on top of him and Goldar was suddenly on the defensive. Jason's sheer aggression pushed Goldar back, until his tail brushed the bulkhead. Goldar spread his wings and leapt up and over Jason, just as a slash from the Red Ranger cut a deep gouge in the bulkhead . . . right at the level where Goldar's neck would have been.

As he landed and put some space between himself and his opponent, Goldar realized he had made a potentially fatal error. This was not Zordon's "teenage with attitude" Red Ranger he had faced all those years ago. This was not a boy, uncertain in his power. This was a battle-honed and confident warrior. However, the sound of an explosion from the throne room above seemed to distract Jason and Goldar took his chance. Quickly charging his sword Goldar launched a burst of dark power at his opponent. The Red Ranger sensed the attack and threw up a haphazard block as the energy impacted and exploded.

Goldar readied himself, knowing that there a high chance the Red Ranger survived the attack. His concerned proved accurate as Jason came flying out of the still-burning fireball, his own sword charged. Goldar deflected the first blow. The Ranger spun with the deflection and his second strike sliced through Goldar's sword. Goldar stared at the broken blade as Jason spun again and, as he completed the second spin, rammed his glowing sword through the golden-armored warrior's chest.

Goldar felt something inside himself shatter and gasped out, "But . . . but . . . Rangers . . . don't kill."

Still holding the sword in Goldar's chest, Jason commented, "We grew up. And anyway, you were already dead." The Red Ranger then withdrew his sword and a torrent of dark energy spewed from the wound. Thrax's dark magic that had been the source of Goldar's second life. Within seconds the flow ended and Goldar's desiccated corpse collapsed to the deck. Jason looked down at it for a moment before turning and sprinting up the stairs to the throne room.

* * *

Brandon took the split second it took for Thrax to clear the distance between his throne and his position to be surprised. Even though all their intelligence pointed to Thrax being far more hands on than his Zedd Lord ancestors, he really did expect Thrax to use mainly combat magic and to fight from a distance. However, this did not prevent the Crimson Ranger from deflecting the first strike from the battle-axe like head of the staff, and to then dodge Thrax's counterstrike with the spear-point base.

The Phoenix Champion and the Zedd Lord attacked and parried for several minutes, their fight ranging all over the cavernous throne room, and doing it significant damage before Brandon got the opportunity to knock Thrax back with a kick. He recovered almost instantaneously and retaliated with a blast from his staff. Brandon flipped the Phoenix Avenger to blaster mode and fired a burst into the oncoming dark energy. The two powers combined explosively, the shockwave knocking both combatants back.

The two quickly recovered and began circling each other. "You're everything your reputation suggests. When I feed your lifeforce to the Heart it will gain enough power so that there will not be a single molecule in this galaxy that won't be touched by the Darkness it will unleash," Thrax stated.

"And Dreaveus was going to use my power to blanket the galaxy in Shadow," Brandon countered. "Different energy, same shtick. You megalomaniacs need a new routine." They both hefted their weapons and charged each other.

There was another furious volley of strikes, counterstrikes, parries, and blocks. Thrax twirled his staff and suddenly teleported, reappearing behind Brandon. The Ranger spun, but there wasn't enough time to put up an effective defense and Thrax dropped him with a leg sweep. The Crimson Ranger went down hard and Thrax spun the staff around, reading a strike through the Ranger's chest with the spear point. However, before he could impale Brandon, Jason barreled into Thrax with a tackle.

Brandon was back on his feet in an instant. Thrax threw Jason off of himself and regained his feet as Jason flipped in mid-air and landed, sword ready. Now it was a two-on-one fight and it was taking everything Thrax had to defend himself and prevented him from concentrating enough to use his magic. Moving as one, and knowing each other from their years together, Jason and Brandon simultaneously charged their swords and stuck . . . slicing Thrax's staff in two.

However, unlike when Tommy had broken the Zedd Staff while rescuing Kat, Thrax did not pause. He forced the Crimson ranger to back off with a slash from the axe top in one hand . . . and impaled the Red ranger through the abdomen with the spear point base in the other.

Jason staggered back, his morph failing. Brandon screamed, "No!" and Thrax turned to face his remaining opponent just as the golden blade of the Phoenix Avenger separated his head from his shoulders. Brandon was already cradling Jason in his arms and lowering him to the deck as the Zedd Lord's helmeted head hit the floor with a metal clang.

"Beloved," Brandon breathed, his voice strained as he fought to hold back tears as he released his morph. The Power could heal a great deal, but no one knew better than the Phoenix Champion its limits.

Jason's chocolate eyes found his mate's amber, "Hey love," the pain obvious in his voice.

Brandon raised his communicator, "Tommy, I need you. Thrax is dead, but Jason's been wounded."

Tommy began to respond, "I'm on my way," but was interrupted as Billy broke in, "We have additional problems. I have disabled the wave generator, but I cannot stop the energy build up. The Heart will go critical in less than three minutes. Unless we can stop it, we will still lose Earth."

Brandon again looked down at Jason and saw the love, the resolve in his eyes, the same eyes that had found his on a summer day in the Youth Center, so long ago. Brandon's eyes held a question, and Jason nodded in answer. Clearing his throat, Brandon spoke into his communicator again, "Tommy, everyone . . . thanks. And please remember, this was the way it was meant to be."

Before any of the Rangers could react they vanished from the Darkthrone in flashes of crimson fire. In the throne room, Brandon and Jason shared a kiss as crimson fire danced across Brandon's form and enveloped them both.

* * *

Trey spun in his command chair as fire and light filled the aft section of the _Warrior Prince_'s bridge. The Ninjetti Rangers: White, Blue, Yellow, Black, Pink, and Green, stood there unmorphed. Kim and the others all looked at the White Ranger and asked, "Tommy?" Tommy just stood there, staring at the image of the Darkthrone on the viewscreen.

Trey looked at Tommy, back at the viewscreen, and then back to Tommy again. Sudden understanding dawning on his face Trey turned back to the helm and commanded, "Core breach protocol! Move the fleet to a safe distance from the Darkthrone!"

Now Tommy broke out of his apparent stupor. Screaming, "No!" he lunged for the helm. Trey intercepted him. "Let me go! We can't just leave them there! Not again! We can't let it happen again!"

Kim raced to Tommy's side, "Tommy, what do you mean? Where's . . ." but stopped dead and stared at the viewscreen.

Trey and Tommy followed her gaze. All over the Darkethrone, cracks were appearing and from those cracks issued crimson fire. As the assembled Rangers and the Triforian crew watched, the cracks expanded until finally, in a glorious burst of Power that caused the viewscreen to activate its filters, the Phoenix burst forth, consuming the Darkthrone and with it the last remnant of Drk Specter and the legacy of the Zedd. The Phoenix appeared to cry out in triumph and the Rangers could all swear they could hear the sound, despite it being issued in the soundless void of space.

Suddenly, the Phoenix began to contract, pulling in its wings and head and then, just as suddenly, it exploded outward again. However, the form this time wasn't of a great bird. Instead, the fiery form was of a massive winged stallion . . . a Pegasus. This new form galloped through the remains of the Darkthrone's fleet of ships and fighters, each crash of its hooves destroying one or more of the vessels.

Once all the enemies were destroyed, the Pegasus reared up in its own cry of triumph. As it came back down, the entity burst into a wave-front of Power that passed over the Triforian fleet, touching each heart onboard. Tommy was already shedding angry tears when the energy touched him, but his tears stopped as it did so. When Zordon's energy had touched him, it carried a feeling of resigned regret. But this energy . . . the combined energy of Brandon and Jason's lives, carried by the essence of the Phoenix entity and the Stallion spirit, felt like contentment . . . completion.

Tommy relaxed a bit and Trey let him go as Kim came to his side and the couple embraced. Rocky likewise took Aisha in his arms and they both grabbed Adam. Billy stood alone for a moment, until Kim gestured for him to join her and Tommy.

As the Earth-born Rangers privately shared their grief, Trey turned to his communications officer, "Open a channel to the fleet and break communication silence with our allies on Earth." Upon receiving the signal that his order had been carried out, Trey sighed deeply and spoke, "Today we have achieved a great victory over the forces of the Darkness. Casualties within the fleet were minimal and none fatal. However, our victory has still had a high price. Jason Lee Scott of Earth, Red Stallion Ninjetti Ranger and brother of my Heart joined with his mate Brandon Loksen, Champion of the Phoenix in giving their lives to defeat Thrax's plans."

On Earth, the other Rangers had their worst fears confirmed. In Tokyo, standing among the remains of the monster they had defeated, Trini threw herself into Zack's arms and the other Rangers, scattered all across the planet turned to each other for comfort. Around the knots of Rangers the soldiers and civilians who had been cheering their victories began to realize that the Rangers had become somber and their cheers died. Even though they did not understand what had happened, there was an instinctual understanding that the Ranger's victory must have come at a terrible price.

Aboard the _Warrior Prince_, Trey continued, "These men, my dear friends, exemplified what it is to be a Ranger and the sacrifice the Power may ultimately ask of all of us who fight for the Light. As Crown Prince of Triforia I make this vow; as long as our people exist, their names and their deeds shall not be forgotten. Once a Ranger, always a Ranger."

_A/N: There will be an epilogue chapter_


	25. Epilogue: 2006

**Burning Crimson**

Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.

**Epilogue: 2006**

The Obstetrics Ward staff had seen some large families before, but never one this diverse. The group taking turns staring at the newborn through the nursery window seemed to represent the entire spectrum of humanity. But the mother was insistent that these people were her child's aunts and uncles.

Normally such a large crowd would not be allowed to be up on the floor all at once. However, given whom the mother was and given whom she and her husband apparently were very close with, the hospital administrators strongly suggested that an exception be made. And normally, the Obstetrics nurses would have been furious at such a bending of the rules, because all these extra people would normally be a huge disruption.

Not this group though. At times, the nurses even forgot they were all there. They moved liked shadows, barely making a sound. The mother's room could be full of them and a nurse would go in to check vitals or do some other normal check and the whole crowd would just vanish out of the room with barely a sound. So, when visiting hours were up, even the head nurse was apologetic about them having to leave. The visitors took it with grace, waving a last goodbye at the child.

The last to depart was a tall, just visibly pregnant Asian woman dressed impeccably in a red suit and her smiling, dark-skinned husband. She thanked them all for their patience in putting up with such a large and excited crowd.

As the couple joined the others on the elevator, the head nurse walked back to her station, shaking her head in bemusement . . . never noticing the trio that now approached the nursery windows.

One, a bald, tall and lanky man with unusually large, indigo eyes and who appeared the elder to the other two put his hand on the glass, "So, this is what it's like to have a grandchild."

"I still can't believe they named him after me," commented one with dark hair, chocolate eyes and a stocky frame.

The third, a lithely built man with auburn hair and amber eyes commented, "Given how much you meant to them, are you really that surprised Beloved?"

"No, I guess not," he smiled. However, after a moment, his smile became a frown, "It's just, is this really fair to them? To him," he indicated the child.

"It will be different for him," the elder one responded. "He was born to this."

"He's right," the auburn haired one added. "The old rules don't apply to him. He'll make all his own."

The dark haired one seemed to accept that and relax, "Okay, good. I just didn't want them to have to go through everything again." He seemed to consider for a moment more and then added, "Although, when they realize what's going on, they are gonna be pissed."

Both of the other two men smiled, and the younger commented, "Well, thankfully, they can't exactly come after us about it. It'll be Dulcea's problem to handle."

They laughed lightly and watched the child sleep before departing, fading from view. Just before they vanished completely new born Jason Samuel Oliver opened his eyes. Baby blue eyes that, for just a moment, glowed crimson.

~Never the End


End file.
